Last-Minute Nomination and Professional Doubts: Deconstructing the Controversy of the 7-Member NCC Nomination List and the Paralysis Crisis of the Independent Agency

The Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (ROC) officially announced a list of seven nominees for the National Communications Commission (NCC) on July 24, Year 115 of the Republic (2026). The list nominates former Taipei City Legal Affairs Department Director Yuan Sho-huei as Chairperson, National Sun Yat-sen University Institute of Marketing Communication Professor Hsiao Ping as Vice Chairperson, and Wang Yi-hui (re-nominated), You Jia-mu, Chang Chun-yen, Chang Ke-hao, and Chen Chun-mu as commissioners.

Once sent to the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China, the list immediately triggered fierce confrontations between ruling and opposition parties and widespread public debate. As the terms of current commissioners expired on July 31, the NCC officially entered a “zero-commissioner gap” on August 1 for the first time in its 20-year history, leaving hundreds of broadcast license renewals and telecom device import approvals paralyzed. This article synthesizes the core controversies surrounding the seven-member nomination list and the underlying institutional dilemma.

1. Procedural Controversy Over “Last-Minute Pressured Nomination”

The timing of the list’s release and submission became the first explosive point of political battle.

• KMT and TPP Opposition Alliances: The current commissioners’ terms expired on July 31, yet the Executive Yuan sent the nomination list to the Legislative Yuan just 7 days prior on July 24. According to parliamentary review practices, substantive consent reviews require no less than one month. Opposition parties criticized Premier Cho Jung-tai for failing to nominate candidates within the statutory deadline under the NCC Organization Act, calling it an illegal dereliction of duty, and accusing the Executive Yuan of using a “stealth last-minute tactic” to shorten review time and shift the blame for NCC’s paralysis onto the legislature.
• DPP and Executive Yuan Response: The Executive Yuan emphasized that previous nominees were rejected by the legislature and that this submission resulted from active consultation across various professional sectors. The DPP argued that the opposition’s refusal to review caused the shortage of commissioners, directly paralyzing over 700 cases involving broadcast licenses, operation changes, and violation penalties.

2. Doubts and Controversies Surrounding Chairperson Nominee Yuan Sho-huei

Among the seven nominees, Yuan Sho-huei, nominated for Chairperson, faced the most intense scrutiny from media and opposition parties across three main areas:

1. Political Background and Career Scrutiny: Yuan served as Ko Wen-je’s legal defense attorney during the “MG149 case” in his 2014 Taipei mayoral campaign, and later served as Director of the Legal Affairs Department in the Ko administration from 2016 to 2018. Although the Executive Yuan highlighted her non-partisan status, her past handling of major city cases like the Taipei Dome and her subsequent appointments to public posts and state-affiliated financial institutions during Green administration years (such as Fubon Financial Director and Mega Bank Independent Director) raised strong doubts about her political neutrality among opposition members.
2. Lack of Core Expertise in Telecom and Communications: Yuan’s primary professional background is in law, legal systems, and corporate governance. Critics and legislators questioned her lack of long-term experience in core domains such as telecommunications policies, 5G networks, spectrum management, and media supervision. Entrusting complex telecom industry policies and media regulation to a purely legal background drew widespread skepticism.
3. Professional Structure Doubts for Other Nominees: Other nominees, including Vice Chairperson candidate Hsiao Ping (academic communication background), re-nominated commissioner Wang Yi-hui, and new nominees You Jia-mu, Chang Chun-yen, Chang Ke-hao, and Chen Chun-mu, cover communication and economics. However, critics questioned whether they possess immediate policy decision-making skills to handle frontier challenges such as generative AI governance, anti-scam telecom management, and digital platform regulation.

3. Trust Crisis of Independent Agencies and Political Stalemate

Behind this 7-member list lies a severe crisis of public trust in the neutrality and independence of regulatory bodies in the Republic of China.

• Loss of Trust in Agency Independence: Opposition parties believe that NCC has lost its required neutrality during past handling of media violations, license renewals, and penalty cases. Consequently, they hold deep distrust toward the nomination list, demanding strict item-by-item questioning regarding past statements and actions.
• Low Approval Odds and Paralysis Risk: Due to the political balance in the Legislative Yuan (where KMT and TPP hold a combined majority) and disagreements over amendments to the NCC Organization Act, along with prioritized reviews for the Examination Yuan and Control Yuan of the Republic of China, the approval odds for the NCC nomination remain extremely low.

4. Supplementary Latest Data: First “Zero-Commissioner Gap” in 20 Years and Emergency Delegation Measures

As current commissioners’ terms expired on August 1 without timely legislative approval, the NCC fell into a “zero-commissioner gap” for the first time in its 20-year history:

• Stalemate in Core Operations: According to regulations, reserved matters involving broadcast license grants/renewals, operation plan changes, major violation penalties, and regulatory amendments require committee meeting resolutions. The absence of commissioners forced hundreds of applications and penalty cases into indefinite postponement.
• Emergency Delegation of Authority: To prevent complete paralysis in public customs clearance and basic telecom operations, NCC urgently consulted the Executive Yuan to delegate non-reserved matters (such as import approvals for certain telecom radio-frequency equipment and limited-quantity Bluetooth devices) temporarily to internal department heads. However, this only resolves minor administrative procedures; NCC’s core policy governance functions remain in a state of practical collapse.

This political crisis triggered by “last-minute nomination” not only exposes extreme distrust between executive and legislative branches, but also pushes the sound development of the communications industry and the rights of citizens of the Republic of China into an unresolved stalemate.