After examining the concurrent relationship between the draft of the "Media Pluralism Maintenance and Anti-trust Act" (Draft) and other acts relevant to convergence on Wednesday, the National Communications Commission (NCC) made some minor amendments to the Draft previously forwarded to the Executive Yuan.

NCC stated that the amendments were made due to the fact that after the Draft was submitted to the Executive Yuan for review in February this year, NCC was requested by the executive body to clarify the possible concurrent relationship between the Draft and other communications-related acts before the legislative process can be proceeded.

The "Media Anti-trust Act Group" was immediately summoned to conduct a comprehensive review among the laws or drafts of digital convergence, including the Radio and Television Act, the Cable Radio and Television Act, the Satellite Broadcasting Act, the Digital Communications Act, and the Telecommunications Management Act. After thorough examination, NCC confirmed that the Draft matched the above-mentioned acts without overlaps.

However, in response to the recent changes in the media industry and the need for supervision, NCC made some slight adjustments to the Draft, namely by strengthening news autonomy and professionalism.

NCC emphasized that the aim of the Draft is to increase profits and pluralism of the media. Consequently, the commission hopes that quality of the news can be enhanced and that by imposing certain information disclosure duties on news media, including their overall investment status and the sources of advertisement revenue, investors’ involvement in broadcasts can be avoided.

Finally, NCC stated that the Draft was reviewed and officially approved during its Commission Meeting and will be handled in accordance with the legal procedures and forwarded to the Executive Yuan for review prior to being passed to the Legislative Yuan in order to complete the legislative procedure.