KMT lawmakers block motion to advance NCC nominees

Taipei, May 7 (CNA) Lawmakers from the Kuomintang (KMT) on Tuesday rejected in committee a bill to advance the government's nominations of four new members of the National Communications Commission (NCC).

All nine KMT members of the Legislature's Procedure Committee voted against scheduling floor time to consider the nominations, while the committee's eight Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members voted in favor and the one Taiwan People's Party (TPP) member abstained.

The vote came after the Executive Yuan announced four nominations for the seven-member communications regulator on April 30, with three replacing commissioners whose four-year terms expire on July 31.

Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗), the current NCC deputy chairman, was nominated to lead the agency, while communications scholars Chen Ping-hung (陳炳宏) and Lo Huei-wen (羅慧雯), along with Chan Yi-lien (詹懿廉), head of the NCC's Department of Platforms and Businesses, were nominated for seats on the commission.

The KMT's move to block the nominations in committee means they are likely to remain stalled, unless negotiations can be held to ease their opposition or the government rescinds the appointments.

If no deal is reached, the four outgoing NCC commissioners, including incumbent Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥), will remain in their positions until their successors are confirmed, according to the NCC Organization Act.

The NCC has been a frequent target of KMT criticism in recent years, most notably for its refusal to renew the broadcast license of the pro-China CTi News channel in December 2020, effectively shutting it down.

The station's prime spot on the dial -- channel 52 -- was later given to Chinese Television System (CTS) News and Info, which the KMT has accused of a pro-DPP bias.

In Taiwan's current Legislative Yuan, the KMT holds 52 seats, along with two KMT-aligned independents, while the DPP holds 51 and the TPP has eight.