Taiwan's Government Urged to Fulfill Free Press Promise

NTD's partner station in Taiwan - NTD Asia Pacific - is calling on the Taiwan government to fulfill its commitment to freedom of the press.

NTD AP has been in talks over a satellite contract renewal with the partially state-owned Chunghwa Telecom. And Taiwan's Premier Wu Den-yih ordered Chunghwa to continue hosting NTD's signal when the current contract expires in August.

But the talks seem to have hit a snag - with Chunghwa taking no concrete action to move NTD to its new satellite.

This satellite signal broadcasts directly into mainland China. It's a key source of uncensored information for people there.

During an inter-agency meeting on May 24th, Premier Wu recognized NTD AP as a benchmark for freedom of speech. He told Chunghwa to do what it can to fit NTD AP onto its new ST-2 satellite. Only as a second option, he said, should the company rent a third-party satellite to carry NTD AP's signal.

So far, not much has been done.

[Theresa Chu, NTD Asia Pacific Spokeswoman]
"Premier Wu had said that the priority is for NTD to have bandwidth on the ST-2 satellite. But so far, we haven't seen Chunghwa do anything to create the needed bandwidth - just four megahertz - for NTD AP. So the case has hit a snag. Also, the [regulatory body] NCC was meant to investigate the bandwidth issue, but it hasn't done that either."

NTD AP has used Chunghwa's satellite since 2007 to broadcast its programming to mainland China.

Many suspect the Chinese regime is pressuring Chunghwa to stop servicing NTD's signal, because it provides uncensored news and information.

Chunghwa's earlier decision to not renew NTD's contract had drawn criticism from Taiwan and abroad.

That's why many people had welcomed Premiere Wu's orders last week, and want the Taiwanese government to follow through.

[Albert Ho, Hong Kong Democratic Party Chairman]
"This expression by Taiwan's government is a proactive step, and I agree with it very much. But I hope [Premier Wu] will actually execute it."

[Wang Dan, Former Tiananmen Democracy Activist]
"Whether NTD AP's broadcast can continue really speaks to [Taiwan's] press freedom. I hope the Premier will make good on his word."

NTD AP says having its signal on a third-party satellite would be undesirable. It had previously experienced unexplained signal jamming, and fears that without the protection of being on the new Chunghwa-owned satellite, its broadcast would be at risk of getting blocked again by the Chinese regime.