Over the past years, the NCC has seen some commissioners holding hundreds of meetings a year with operators in a particular industry, or receiving long-term sponsorship deals or being commissioned to conduct research by certain operators, which could all have a profound impact on the commission’s internal operations.
Chung: Personnel [management] is indeed an issue of great significance.
For this reason, the Executive Yuan should conduct a very thorough background check on possible NCC nominees’ specialties and stances [on particular matters] prior to their nominations.
Aside from the review by the Legislative Yuan, [the Executive Yuan] could also enhance the public examination mechanism [of NCC members], allowing all corners of society to gain a better grasp of how NCC members do things and their accomplishments after they take up the position.
More attention should also be paid to the selection of [the commission’s] chairperson, as each of them only serves a two-year term, which is far from long enough for a young agency like the NCC to establish a long-term organizational system and ethics, and they may only attempt to avoid making mistakes as opposed to really accomplishing something.
Furthermore, the chairmanship entails professional competence and integration and coordination capabilities — a standard the previous two chairpersons failed to meet in my opinion.
Telecommunications and media are both regulated industries that involve vested interests.
At the end of the day, it is decided by the person at the helm on how they perceive the media environment and on whether they are determined to pursue the “maximum benefits for the public,” one of the commission’s stated objectives.
If the incumbent cannot prevent administrative and political powers from interfering in the NCC, the status of it as an independent agency may just as well be annulled.
Translated by Stacy Hsu, staff writer
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