Party, Government, and Media Monopolized by the DPP
United Daily News, August 6, 2020
Recently, President Tsai Ing-wen asked its members to take actions to disprove the saying that “full governance leads to corruption” at the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) National Congress. However, the facts show that DPP legislators gave special favors to specific businessmen, and pro-DPP examiners inclined to grab specific bids, the pro-DPP public relations company devoured state-enterprises tenders, constructing a beautiful facade of Tsai administration’s governance. Is this the script that the whole people expect?
Although the government agencies have repeatedly claimed that bidding processes are just and fair, but the selection of examiners are doubtful in the process. Some former DPP staff workers had unusually high chances of being selected. A few examiners can even monopolize tens of billions dollars’ worth of bids while their own bids were reviewed by a clique of inner circles. Taiwan claims to have lots of talented people, then why the government tenders must go through those same examiners again and again?
The chances of SET TV and Formosa TV (FTV)’s win of government bids are alarmingly high. Even in the prime-time political commentary shows, the topics and angles of criticizing the opposition party oftentimes were strikingly similar, as if following the same script. From the top to the bottom, a structural monopoly has been formed, and the nation’s resources lopsided. It all seems a legitimate game, but is it in line with social perception?
The members of the National Communications Commission (NCC) convened the first meeting with a new lineup yesterday, and the television channel rearrangement proposal was passed. SET iNews channel made a big leap forward from channel 88 to 48 (closer to other news channels). The DPP used to demand that political parties, the government, and the military withdraw from all kinds of media when the DPP was the opposition party. Nowadays the triad of party, government and media is like a family. In contrast to the NCC’s extremely friendly decision yesterday, the people may have to use magnifiers and tinted glasses to watch NCC operation in the future.
The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and the public opinion criticized the Tsai government for hiring “toadyish examiners” in the biddings, favoring designated media and PR companies. But the DPP rebutted the KMT’s double standards yesterday.
National resources and media channels are not historical legacies. The DPP is now fully in power, and has more room to establish a normalized government mechanism. The bad habits of the KMT in the past do not justify the DPP’s copying them, and even turn the rules into a cheap witch hunt game in the end. Recently, President Tsai reiterated DPP’s long-forgotten motto of “clean, diligent, loving homeland.” Does it imply that the DPP is getting further and further away from its simplest script?