Zhuo Rejects Co-signing TV Law Amendment; Executive Yuan Escalates to Legislature

Taiwan’s media regulation and constitutional system have once again entered a period of highly controversial confrontation. Executive Yuan Spokesperson Li Hui-chih officially announced on the 24th that, regarding the amendment to the Radio and Television Act recently passed through third reading by the Legislative Yuan, Premier Cho Jung-tai has decided to adopt the constitutional measure of "refusing countersignature." Behind this decision lies not only a long-standing disagreement between the executive and legislative branches over the "party, government, and military" investment clauses in media, but it also touches upon the consistency of national communications and broadcasting policies and the implementation of the rule of law. The Executive Yuan emphasized that the party, government, and military clauses and related penalty targets involved in this legislative amendment are highly similar to the provisions in the Satellite Broadcasting Act and the Cable Radio and Television Act, which Premier Cho had previously refused to countersign. To ensure consistency in investment restrictions and regulatory norms for all types of media nationwide—thereby meeting the requirements of the Constitution regarding the principle of equality and the stability of the legal order—the Executive Yuan was compelled to make this solemn political and legal decision.

Reviewing the context of the entire incident, the focus of the Legislative Yuan's amendment to the Radio and Television Act has long centered on the clauses requiring political parties, the government, and the military to withdraw from media ownership, as well as the identification of targets for illegal penalties. For a long time, Taiwanese society has placed extremely high demands on preventing political forces from intervening in the media, safeguarding freedom of the press, and protecting the independence of the fourth estate. Consequently, the old laws imposed extremely strict restrictions on investments by the party, government, and military in broadcasting and television media. However, with the passage of time, the development of media convergence, and numerous practical difficulties encountered in implementation, the ruling and opposition parties have never reached a consensus on how to adjust the party, government, and military clauses. During the deliberation process, legislators passed the relevant amended provisions by majority vote in a third reading, attempting to relax or redefine certain regulations and penalties. Nevertheless, viewing the matter from the high vantage point of overall national communications and broadcasting policy, the Executive Yuan believes that these legislative directions would not only create contradictions in practical execution but also produce serious loopholes in legal logic.

The Executive Yuan's decision this time to refuse countersignature on the bill passed in the third reading by the Legislative Yuan is not an isolated incident; rather, it is a continuation of the executive team's consistent stance regarding the amendment of the three communications and broadcasting laws. Previously, regarding the amendments to the Satellite Broadcasting Act and the Cable Radio and Television Act, Premier Cho Jung-tai similarly chose not to countersign them based on the same legal reasoning. The core logic of the Executive Yuan is that Taiwan's broadcasting and television media ecosystem is an integrated market, characterized by a high degree of competition and substitutability among terrestrial broadcasting and television, satellite broadcasting and television, and cable broadcasting and television. If investment and regulatory norms regarding the party, government, and military were relaxed or altered for only certain types of media while remaining strictly restricted for others, it would create severe legal inequality and even lead to regulatory arbitrage or market chaos. Therefore, the amendments to the Radio and Television Act must be completely consistent with the regulatory logic of the Satellite Broadcasting Act and the Cable Radio and Television Act to establish a fair, just, and predictable media competitive environment.

From the perspective of the constitutional system, "refusal of countersignature" is a very special and solemn constitutional power held by the Premier. According to the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, if the Executive Yuan deems a bill, budget bill, or major policy proposal resolved by the Legislative Yuan to be difficult to execute, it may, with the approval of the President, submit the matter back to the Legislative Yuan for reconsideration. However, when reconsideration fails or involves deeper conflicts concerning the constitution and legal order, the Premier's use of a refusal to countersign to express the executive branch's insistence on the legality and constitutionality of a bill frequently triggers intense political confrontation and constitutional debate between the ruling and opposition parties. The Executive Yuan clearly pointed out this time that considering the strict necessity for a high degree of consistency in investment restrictions and related regulatory norms for the party, government, and military in media, this approach fully complies with the principles of legal order stability and equality demanded by the Constitution. This indicates that the Executive Yuan is not blocking the bill purely out of political considerations, but is rather attempting to uphold the logical self-consistency of the nation's overall regulations from a constitutional height.

This decision will have profound impacts on Taiwan's future political ecosystem, parliamentary operations, and media industry development. Politically, the tense relationship between the Executive Yuan and the legislative majority is expected to escalate further, and the struggle between the ruling and opposition parties over bill deliberations and the system of checks and balances on executive power will intensify. In terms of media regulation, as the controversies surrounding the amendments to the Radio and Television Act, the Satellite Broadcasting Act, and the Cable Radio and Television Act continue to simmer, whether the party, government, and military clauses should be comprehensively reviewed, and how to balance the withdrawal of political forces with the needs of industrial transformation, remain issues that Taiwanese society must face with utmost seriousness. Although the Executive Yuan's insistence on regulatory consistency has temporarily blocked the controversial bill from taking effect, it also highlights the continued need for greater dialogue and consensus between the executive and legislative branches on major livelihood and industrial policies in order to establish a sound, stable modern media regulatory system that aligns with the spirit of the Constitution.