NCC Continues Crackdowns on Underground Radio Stations

Source: To Deter Pirate Radio — NCC Considers Fine Increase to NT$15 Million
From: Liberty Times
Date: 2009-01-10 · Author: Liu Li-jen

The so-called “underground radio stations” are in fact illegal stations. From their emergence in 1989 to the present, Taiwan’s underground radio stations have never been legal — yet they persist despite repeated bans. The reasons go beyond the deeply entangled web of vested interests they involve; they also relate to Taiwan’s populist political culture.

Compared to underground radio stations of the past, most of Taiwan’s underground stations have transformed: no longer relying on donations from political advocacy broadcasting, they have turned to selling fraudulent medicines. Thus after Taiwan’s 2008 change of ruling party, the KMT at one point chose to crack down on underground radio stations under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act rather than the Broadcast Act. The National Communications Commission (NCC), finding the Broadcast Act’s penalties too light, decided to amend the law and significantly increase penalties — from the current maximum of NT$600,000 to NT$15 million, plus a prison sentence of up to two years — hoping to create a deterrent effect and improve the proliferation of underground radio.

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External Links

• Table of Taiwan’s Illegal Radio Stations: “Number Shut Down” vs. “Number Still Broadcasting” (NCC)
• Policy Analysis on Underground Radio Station Management (National Policy Foundation)
• Why Can’t Taiwan’s Underground Radio Stations Be Banned? (People’s Daily Overseas Edition)
• Taiwan’s Underground Radio Survey (Part 1): Media Access Rights and Civil Society (Yen Yu-shuang)