US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI3951

C O N F I D E N T I A L TAIPEI 003951 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON - SCHRAGE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2015 
TAGS: KMDR, KPAO, OPRC, TW, Domestic Politics 
SUBJECT: TAIWAN'S ICRT STRUGGLING TO KEEP ITS FREQUENCY AND 
STAY ON THE AIR 
 
Classified By: ADIR DAVID KEEGAN, REASON 1.4(B) 
 
1.(C)  Summary: A year-old battle between Taiwan's only 
English-language radio station ICRT and the Government 
Information Office (GIO) has resumed as the DPP government 
attempts to make good on its campaign promise to legitimize 
underground radio stations by giving them frequencies.  The 
re-organization of Taiwan's radio spectrum would involve 
re-locating ICRT at a new frequency, thereby necessitating 
major expenditures for ICRT.  ICRT's management says the 
station would essentially be forced out of business.  Expat 
community leaders and a number of Western representative 
offices in Taiwan have urged the government to make an 
exception allowing ICRT to stay in its current position. End 
Summary. 
 
2.(C)  ICRT holds a desirable location in the middle of the 
dial and broadcasts on super-strength- it was originally used 
as a tool to jam PRC broadcasts into Taiwan.  In the 2004 
presidential campaign, the DPP counted on illegal underground 
radio stations to mobilize supporters.  The DPP reportedly 
promised the radio operators that they would be legitimized 
by the new government.  Pressure from the radio operators to 
make good on that promise, combined with a desire to 
diversify the media in Taiwan has led to a plan to totally 
overhaul Taiwan's radio spectrum.  The plan calls for 
approximately 30% of radio stations to be relocated on the 
spectrum, as well as to have their broadcast strength 
reduced.  This would allow more stations to squeeze into the 
spectrum.  ICRT would be moved to the very end of the 
spectrum- the Siberia of radio frequencies- and would be 
reduced to a medium-strength broadcaster.  The move would 
require ICRT to build a costly and entirely new network of 
relay stations, potentially driving the company out of 
business. 
 
3.(C)  Nelson Chang, Chairman of ICRT's Board of Directors, 
alleges the move is politically motivated since ICRT received 
support from the KMT government since 1979.  Once the DPP 
took over, he says ICRT lost all its government funding and 
was evicted from its facilities on public land.  He sees this 
latest move as an attempt to marginalize ICRT even further 
and put increased financial pressure on its operations. 
Chang claimed to AIT that the way in which the GIO has 
handled the reorganization has been sloppy and so clearly 
partisan as to be "almost laughable".  He read us a letter 
from the GIO claiming that ICRT had agreed to move to its new 
frequency without any financial assistance from the 
government.  He also showed us a return letter, sent 
September 23, saying this was patently untrue.  He says that 
the other radio stations targeted by the reorganization make 
it clear it is a political move- the other major target being 
the Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC), a KMT-owned 
station. 
 
4.(C)  The issue has been prominent in the press over the 
last week as the American Chamber of Commerce and Taipei's 
Community Service Center (a major service center for the 
expatriate community founded with the assistance of AIT) made 
statements to the press and representations to the GIO on 
ICRT's behalf.  They have asked that ICRT be given a special 
exception because of the important role it plays in 
disseminating emergency and public safety information to 
foreigners living in Taiwan.  The public statements are said 
to have created pressure on the government to find a workable 
compromise with ICRT.  Those organizations as well as 
representatives of Western trade offices are keeping up the 
pressure.  Nelson Chang says that ICRT and the GIO have 
entered the end game and it will result in one of three 
options: 1) ICRT remaining at its current location with its 
current strength, 2) ICRT moving to a new location and/or 
being reduced to medium-strength, but with financial 
assistance from the government to make the changes, or 3) 
ICRT being forced into those changes, Chang resigning his 
position and the radio station going out of business due to 
financial hardship. 
 
5.(C)  COMMENT: This is a battle that ICRT has fought and 
weathered before.  While it is hard to believe that the 
government's ultimate goal is to drive ICRT out of business, 
it may be that its continued existence is not commercially 
viable in light of the other goals of the GIO.  ICRT has had 
continuing financial problems since 1999, as have Taiwan's 
English-language newspapers.  There simply is no model for a 
financially successful, locally produced, English-language 
media outlet in Taiwan.  A decision to make an exception for 
ICRT would likely need to be politically motivated by a 
desire to keep Taiwan's expat community happy. 
KEEGAN