PTS deadlock deepens as Chair Hu booted from committee session

Taipei, May 7 (CNA) A standoff between the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and the Ministry of Culture (MOC) escalated Thursday after Public Television Service (PTS) Chairperson Hu Yuan-hui (胡元輝) was asked to leave a legislative committee meeting.

Before the session of the Education and Culture Committee began, Hu left the room at the request of KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), who stated that Hu, whose term ended in May 2025, was no longer PTS chair.

Lo said that amendments to the Public Television Act, which abolish provisions allowing PTS board members to remain in office after their terms expire, had already cleared the Legislature and were promulgated by President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Feb. 4.

The KMT lawmaker said that the move was not directed at Hu personally, but concerned legislative principle and respect for laws promulgated by the president.

Outside the meeting room, Hu told reporters that because the Public Television Act does not explicitly state what should happen when an outgoing board's term expires, the Foundation Act provided legal grounds for his continued tenure as chair of Taiwan's sole public broadcaster.

Article 40 of the Foundation Act states that directors shall continue performing their duties until newly appointed directors take office if replacements are not appointed "in a timely manner" after their terms expire.

Under the Public Television Act, the PTS board comprises 11 to 15 directors and three to five supervisors. All must be approved by a review committee made up of public figures nominated proportionally by legislative parties, with a two-thirds majority required for approval.

The MOC announced 14 directors and five supervisor nominees on Dec. 17, but only four director candidates were approved at the first review meeting on Dec. 31, which was insufficient to constitute the board.

On March 12, the ministry released a second list of nominees for the eighth board of directors. However, before another review meeting could be held, eight opposition-nominated members of the 15-member review committee withdrew on April 9, leaving the meeting without the quorum required to conduct the review.

They argued that Culture Minister Li Yuan (李遠) had ignored a long-standing convention followed by previous ministers of consulting all political parties on potential nominees.

On Thursday, Li protested Hu's removal from the room, saying that requiring interparty negotiations to form the board would violate the principle of keeping political parties, the government and the military out of public media.

KMT lawmaker Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) said the deadlock over the PTS board election had dragged on for too long and that all sides hoped the process could be completed as soon as possible. She also urged Li not to become disconnected from public opinion.

Ko added that "political negotiation" could take many forms and that viewing the issue in overly simplistic terms would not help resolve it.