無國界記者組織（RSF）是一個捍衛資訊自由的國際非政府、非營利與非政治性組織。關於NCC不予中天新聞台換照一事，由於將影響中天新聞台的員工，RSF對此表達遺憾，但強調此項由國家通訊傳播委員會的決議並不涉及侵害新聞自由。

 

1. 新聞自由並不是指毫無管制。新聞自由，如同世界人權宣言第19條所述，是指公眾有接受正確資訊的權利，並不是指媒體擁有者能散播符合自己利益內容的權利。就像其他形式的自由，新聞自由需要相關的管制，以及民主的控制，才能有效發揮其效用，而不是被濫用。無國界記者鼓勵民主政府透過機制保障新聞倫理與編輯自主。

 

2. NCC審查中天新聞台執照符合正當性。由獨立審查機關對更換電視台執照進行的定期審查，在民主政體是標準的作業流程，並未涉及侵害新聞自由。由於衛星廣播頻譜是有限資源，因此當政府在發放頻譜執照時，會提出相關附帶要求，包括遵守新聞倫理與編輯自主。中天新聞台曾在2014年被許可換照，但附帶條款要求中天新聞台必須建立機制，確保新聞的最佳產製流程。這些附帶條款是基於《衛星廣播電視法》所提出。

 

3. 不予換照是極端的手段，需要被妥善證明其合理性。無國界記者呼籲NCC提供公眾完整的資料，說明中天新聞台若換照後對公眾利益所可能造成的損害。RSF同時要求，相同的標準也要適用於未來不同政治色彩的媒體執照審查。

 

4. 台灣過去與當今的政府都必須要為媒體所缺乏的新聞倫理與編輯自主負責。當前台灣記者正在政治高度兩極化、腥羶色、利潤至上的工作環境中掙扎，這樣的環境也連帶影響台灣公眾接受完整不被扭曲資訊的權利。台灣歷任政府在過去數十年，都鮮少施行具體的措施來提高公眾辯論的品質。無國界記者持續呼籲各政黨與政府，希望新聞倫理與編輯自主在未來能被更有效落實。

 

 

RSF: “The non-renewal of CTi’s licence is regrettable but does not go against press freedom”

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international non-governmental, non-profit and non-political organisation defending freedom of information, regrets the non-renewal of TV channel CTI’s broadcasting licence as it bears consequences for its staff but insists that the decision taken by the National Communications Commission (NCC) does not go against press freedom.

1/ Press freedom does not mean the absence of a regulation. Press freedom, as defined by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is a right of the public to receive accurate information and not a right of media owners to impart content that suits their interests. Like any other freedom, it requires regulations and democratic control to be fully effective and deter abuse. RSF encourages democratic governments to implement mechanisms that guarantee ethical journalism and editorial independence. 

2/ The NCC review of CTi’s licence is legitimate. A regular review for a TV channel’s licence extension by an independent regulator is a standard procedure in democracies and does not go against press freedom. As broadcasting networks are limited, it is standard that states allocate licences under conditions that can include the enforcing of ethical journalism and editorial independence. CTI’s license was renewed in 2014 on condition that it would set-up mechanisms to ensure the respect of the best practices of journalism, which is permitted by the Satellite Broadcasting Act. 

3/ Non-renewal is an extreme measure that must be properly justified. RSF calls on the NCC to provide the public with complete access to all evidence showing unequivocally that the renewal of CTI’s licence would have endangered the public interest. RSF also calls on NCC to apply the same level of exigence to all future media licence reviews, no matter the media’s political orientation. 

4/ All past and present Taiwanese governments share responsibility for the lack of respect for journalism ethics and editorial independence in the media. Taiwan’s journalists are suffering from a very politically polarized media environment dominated by sensationalism and the pursuit of profit, which impairs the right of the public to receive complete and unbiased information. Over the past decades, too few concrete measures have been taken by consecutive Taiwanese governments to raise the quality of the public debate. RSF has repeatedly called on political parties and the government to ensure that ethical journalism and editorial independence are better enforced in the future.