Slogan for Party, Government, and Military to Exit the Media Has Become a Joke
United Daily News Commentary, March 2, 2023
Sidney Lin, former deputy secretary-general of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) quitted politics temporarily to serve in a subsidiary of Sanlih E-Television. This may not be a problem from a legal perspective. However, based upon the DPP's core value, namely for the party, government, and military to exit the media, it is another example of the party’s double standards.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the DPP has been the standard-bearer for the cause of the party, government, and the military exiting the media. The dominant players in this movement at the time, such as former legislators Lo Wen-chia and Li Wen-chung, are still active in politics. These guys even enjoy close relations with incumbent DPP Chairman William Lai. So, have the party, government, and military really exited the media?
Recent incidents do not indicate so. Take "Sanlih Gang," a faction in the DPP with growing importance, it's headed by the deceased Chairman Lin Kung-hai of Sanlih E-Television. Now this faction has one seat in the Standing Committee of the DPP and three seats in the Legislative Yuan. The Sanlih gang has become a powerful new faction in the DPP.
The trend of working both within the political circle and the media is no news. In the Legislative Yuan, Legislator Lin Chu-yin used to be a host and anchor at Sanlih E-Television. Not long ago, the former Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung, obtained a lucrative job as host of a political program at Formosa TV right after his resignation. Now Mr. Lin, former deputy secretary-general of the ruling party, has joined a subsidiary of Sanlih E-Television. The DPP’s inhabitation across the legislature, political talk shows, and DPP-friendly media are now in the present progressive tense.
It has been a quarter century since the DPP began advocating that the party, government, and military exit the media in the 1990s. But what has changed? The reality is that the media on Taiwan, once dominated by the Kuomintang (KMT), is now controlled by the DPP.
This slogan of the DPP is not only empty, but it has also become a joke!