|
Illegal radio stations petition for
operating licenses
By Shelley Shan
STAFF REPORTER, WITH STAFF WRITER
Saturday, Apr 10, 2010, Page 3
Hsu An-chin, chairman of the Chinese Internet
and Multimedia Association, second left, leads members of the association in a
protest outside the legislature yesterday, as representatives of more than 100
underground radio stations urged the government to let them register as legal
radio stations.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Hundreds of illegal radio service operators petitioned the Legislative Yuan,
Executive Yuan and National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday, asking
the government to stop a crackdown on illegal operators and to instead allow
them to apply for legal operating licenses.
They also asked the government to reserve about 40 percent of the radio spectrum
for unregistered radio operators, to be used by as many as 60 new operators.
The move came in the wake of a directive issued by Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義)
earlier this month to crack down on fake and substandard medicine the government
said is easily available on underground radio stations and Internet sites.
Talking to Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) at the legislature, Chinese
Internet and Multimedia Association chairman Hsu An-chin (?i) described the
existence of underground radio stations as a “historical glitch” and called on
the government to come up with measures to help the operators obtain legal
licenses.
In response, Wang said the government decided to crack down on illegal stations
because many advertise and sell counterfeit and controlled drugs, several of
which have been linked to kidney failure and other health problems.
Wang said he hoped the NCC would look into ways to address the illegal
operators’ desire to become legal and above board.
The protesters proceeded to the NCC at around 1pm yesterday where ten
representatives, led by Hsu, met with the NCC officials and submitted their
petitions.
NCC spokesperson Chen Jeng-chang (陳正倉) said the commission is amending the
Broadcasting and Television Act (廣播電視法) because it wants to solve long-standing
problems with the illegal radio services.
“Both the Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan are acutely aware of the
fact that these illegal operators use public frequencies and the consequences of
them doing so and want to settle this issue as soon as possible,” Chen said.
Noting that the radio spectrum is a public asset, Chen said the government must
give out operational licenses according to existing laws.
“The law does not assign any frequency to anyone,” he continued. “Owners of
illegal radio stations should file applications as soon as the commission
promulgates new rules governing the issuance of operational licenses.”
|
