BLUE DOMINATES TAIWAN'S NCC COMMISSIONER'S

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TAIPEI 004883 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/RSP/TC AND EB/ITC STATE PLEASE PASS AIT/W AND USTR USTR FOR WINELAND, WINTERS AND STRATFORD USDOC FOR 4430/ITA/MAC/AP/OPD/JKELLY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EINV ECON TW SUBJECT: BLUE DOMINATES TAIWAN'S NCC COMMISSIONER'S ¶1. Summary: Taiwan's National Communications Commission (NCC) Review Committee held public meetings to review all 18 NCC nominees from December 9-11 and then selected 13 NCC Commissioners who will take office before the end of December. Because the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and People's First Party (PFP) dominate the review committee, the eight nominees recommended by these parties were all selected, leaving five seats for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU). Driven by the recent flap over TV broadcast license renewals and the government's implicit threat to close one station that had been airing reports critical of the government, most observers are focusing on the NCC's role in media regulation and forgetting that the NCC will also play a key role in the development of Taiwan's telecom market as the pace of convergence between broadcast and telecom services increases. End Summary Make-up of Review Committee Determines Commissioners ============================================= ======= ¶2. The NCC Organic Law was passed by the Legislative Yuan (LY) on October 25 and promulgated by President Chen Shui- Bian on November 9. The new law requires the LY to nominate 11 scholars and experts to form an NCC Review Committee which will review and select candidates to become NCC Commissioners. The composition of this review committee is based on each party's representation in the LY. The ruling Democratic People's Party (DPP) nominated four members, the KMT also nominated four, the PFP nominated two, and the Taiwan Solidarity Union nominated one member. Because the opposition pan-blue parties control the legislature, they also were able to exercise a majority on the NCC review committee. A few review committee members have some background in broadcasting, including DPP nominated Lu Shih-Hsiang, currently the CEO of the Foundation for the Advancement of Media Excellence. Lu also was a journalist and chief editor the United Daily News and Economic Daily News. The KMT nominated Shao Yu-Ming for the review committee. Shao is a former Government Information Office Governor and Board Chairman of the KMT-owned Central Daily News. The review committee, however, lacked members with experience 
in telecommunications. New Commissioners to Take Office Before End of Year ============================================= ===== ¶3. Following the establishment of the Review Committee, the Executive Yuan (EY) nominated three NCC Commissioner candidates, with political parties in the LY nominating an additional 15 candidates, based again on proportion of seats in the LY. The DPP nominated six candidates, the KMT also nominated six, with the PFP nominating two and the TSU nominating one candidate. The Review Committee then had 20 days to select 13 NCC Commissioners. Once selected, the names of the Commissioners must be transmitted to the EY and then passed to the LY for final approval. The statutory deadline for completing the process is December 28. And the Winners Are... ============================================= ====== ¶4. Three days of public hearings, in which the nominating committee's questions focused primarily on how the Government Information Office (GIO) had mishandled an inquiry of satellite television operator TVBS, was followed on December 11 by a vote to determine which nominees would become NCC Commissioners. As expected, all eight pan-blue nominated candidates were chosen, while only five of the ten pan-green candidates were selected. Below is a list of the new Commissioners, their backgrounds, and the nominating party. Executive Yuan Nominated -------------- Ms. Weng Hsiu-Chi -- Major: Broadcasting -- Current job: Professor, Department of Journalism, National Chengchi University -- Edu: Ph.D., Broadcasting, Mainz University in Germany -- Age: 57 Mr. Chen Ming-Syan -- Major: Telecommunications -- Current Job: Dean of Graduate Institute of Communication Engineering, National Taiwan University -- Edu: Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor -- Age: 46 DPP Nominated -------------- Mr. Shi Shi-Hao -- Major: Law -- Current Job: Dean of Institute of Financial and Economic Law, National Dong Hwa University -- Edu: Ph.D., Law, Hamburg University -- Age: 40 Mr. Lu Chung-Jin -- Major: Telecommunications -- Current Job: Dean of Electronics Department, National Tsinghua SIPDIS University -- Edu: Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California -- Age: 46 KMT Nominated -------------- Ms. Liu Yu-Li -- Major: Broadcasting/Journalism -- Current Job: Professor, Department of Radio & TV, National Chengchi University -- Edu: Ph.D., Telebroadcasting, Indiana University -- Age:48 Mr. Lin Tung-Ttai -- Major: Broadcasting/Journalism -- Current Job: Professor, Graduate Institute of Mass Communications, National Taiwan Normal University -- Edu: Ph.D., Broadcasting, University of Ohio State -- Age: 55 Mr. Lin Yi-Ping -- Major: Telecommunications -- Current Job: Professor of National Chiao Tung University and adjunct research fellow of Academia Sinica -- Edu: Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Washington -- Age: 44 Mr. Su Yeong-Chin -- Major: Law -- Current Job: Professor, Department of Law, National Chengchi University -- Edu: Ph.D. in law, Munich University -- Age: 54 Mr. Liu Kung-Chung -- Major: Law -- Current Job: research fellow, Academia Sinica -- Edu: Ph.D. in law, Munich University -- Age: 44 Mr. Wu Chung-Chi -- Major: Industrial Economics/Consumer protection -- Current Job: Professor, Economics Department, National Taiwan University -- Edu: BA in Economics, National Taiwan University -- Age: 59 PFP Nominated -------------- Mr. Liu Zong-De -- Major: Law -- Current Job: Professor, Department of Law, National Chengchi University -- Edu: Ph.D. in Law, Nogoya University, Japan -- Age: 51 Mr. Lee Tzu-Yuan -- Major: Broadcasting -- Current Job: Chairman of Taipei Journalists Association, former President of Taiwan TV Co. -- Edu: MA degree in Diplomatic Studies, National Chengchi University -- Age: 62 TSU SIPDIS --- Hsieh Jin-Nan -- Major: Telecommunications -- Current Job: Technology Advisor of Fu Yan Media Technology Co. -- Edu: Ph.D, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology The new Commissioners have backgrounds in telecoms (4 commissioners),broadcasting (4),law (4),and consumer protection (1). Interestingly, 3 of 4 broadcasting experts were nominated by the pan-blue parties, while 3 of 4 telecoms experts came from the pro-green camp. Three of the four legal scholars are pan-blue nominees. Chosen on Party Lines, but Free from Pressure? =========================================== ¶5. Given the political (and physical) battles that surrounded the passage of the NCC law by the LY, it was widely expected that the 13 NCC Commissioners would be selected strictly along party lines. The Chairman of the Commission has yet to be selected but will almost certainly be from the pan-blue parties. In spite of the heated partisan origins of the NCC, KMT Legislator and former Disney executive Joanna Lei insisted to AIT/T that Commissioners would be free from political pressure since once appointed their terms were fixed at three years (although the law allows them to be reappointed once.) ¶6. DPP legislative whip Ke Chien-Min said that the DPP's nominees were all top scholars and experts, and noted that none are DPP members. He decried the blue-dominated NCC as the result of blatant political engineering that threatened freedom of the press in Taiwan. The KMT tried to downplay its nominees' party membership and paint them as untainted by ties to business. A KMT spokesman said that the party had rejected 7 persons recommended by business conglomerates, such as Eastern Multimedia Group. ¶7. Many candidates with strong backgrounds and good reputations reportedly refused to become NCC Commissioner nominees. These people are said to include Wu Fong-Shang, the former Chairman of the Public TV Foundation; Wang Jian- Hsuan, a former Finance Minister; Wang Chin-Fong, a Vice- Presidential Candidate in 1996; and Lin Charng-Shen, President of Uni-President Group. One reason for their reported refusal could be the restrictions on NCC Commissioners. For example, serving on the NCC requires commissioners to refrain from any other employment. When their terms of office are completed, commissioners are prohibited from taking a job with a telecom/broadcast- related company for 3 years. Not Enough Telecom Experience? ============================================ ¶8. One concern from local telecommunications industry representatives has been that the parties and government are focusing on broadcasting to the neglect of crucial telecom regulatory issues. KMT Legislator Joanna Lei confirmed that broadcasting regulation was first in the minds of most LY members. The GIO decision to refuse to reissue broadcast licenses for several cable channels, followed by the threat to close TVBS in the wake of its investigative reports alleging government corruption, pushed the LY to pass the NCC bill as a way to stop the GIO from interfering with press freedoms, she said. Chunghwa Telecom Chairman Ho Chen Tan urged that the NCC should at least have 4 members with a strong background in telecommunications. ¶9. Comment: The NCC appears to be relatively evenly divided between Commissioners with a strong background and interest in broadcasting, telecom and law. However, with the power in the committee wielded by the broadcast-heavy pan-blue faction, the NCC may find it difficult to deal with the concerns of the telecommunications industry. This could potentially cause problems for Taiwan's leading position in telecommunications technology as telecom and broadcast companies move towards convergence of the two industries. Taiwan needs an NCC that can provide a positive regulatory environment to allow the continued development of Taiwan's telecommunication industry - in both services and equipment. An NCC that is overly focused on broadcast standards or political battles over free- speech or control of the media will not be credible as an independent telecom regulator. End Comment. PAAL