NCC Chairperson, Dr. Howard S.H. Shyr received Ms. Sarah VANDY, the Director of Department of Politics at French office in Taipei (Bureau Français de Taipei) and Video Specialist Jeremy SEGAY on November 15. The purpose of the meeting was to exchange views on the video industry development and media concentration in both France and Taiwan.
Ms. Sarah VANDY, who this September took up the role of Director of Department of Politics at French Office in Taipei, discussed Taiwan media concentration and inquired how the NCC and Ministry of Culture defined their roles and cooperated with respect to the development of the video industry.
　Chairperson Shyr explained that, apart from the domestic market, the Taiwan video industry also develops markets in Chinese-speaking areas, such as Mainland China, South-East Asia and the west coast of the US, where many Chinese-speaking people are gathered. In terms of cultural diversity, similar to the US, Taiwan adheres to the concept of market mechanism and consequently has moderate intervention in regulating the number of licenses, operators, and their qualifications. Despite minor overlapping between the NCC and Ministry of Culture, each government organization has its own specific duties: the Ministry of Culture is responsible for supervising enterprises by placing resources into projects that lead industrial development. In contrast, rather than providing resources, NCC targets on establishing and facilitating market order and therefore pays more attention to operators’ identity, qualification and other criteria. If the content of a program violates the rights and interests of certain groups, such as juveniles, NCC requires the operator to modify the content or handles the case in accordance with law; if the program content ignores the needs of certain groups, NCC can, through the mechanism of evaluation and re-issuing of licenses, encourage operators to ensure cultural diversity is protected.
　Mr. Jeremy SEGAY, the Video Specialist at French office in Taipei, described how French legislation requires operators to place a certain percentage of revenue into program production. A certain percentage of programs originating from France or other EU member states is also required. Chairperson Shry mentioned that both the Radio and Television Act and the Cable Radio and Television Act of Taiwan also stipulate similar regulations for domestic production.
　In addition, regarding Taiwan’s media concentration, the French party expressed some concerns regarding the influence of the Want Want – China Network Systems (CNS) merger deal and Next Media trading case. Chairperson Shry explained the NCC had already taken administrative disciplinary measures on the Want Want – CNS merger deal and had listed 3 conditions and 25 promises to be fulfilled by the enterprise to ensure the diversity of speech. He further mentioned that this investment project also needed to be examined and approved by both the NCC and Investment Commission of Ministry of Economic Affairs before the equity transfer.
　Chairperson Shry also stated that the Legislative Yuan requested the NCC to submit a draft bill by June 2013 to establish the explicit standards to handle single media or cross-media monopolization. Chairperson Shyr further pointed out that at the same time, as the new generation communication technology (4G) brings sweeping changes to the market, NCC needs to manage the future development of the communications service industry with a broader vision.