The GIO debacle continues, with the GIO releasing a position paper on their handling of the TVBS dispute (via Rank). Most of it rehashes the known facts, but the interesting bit is in the conclusions:

Judging from the background and intention of the legislation as outlined above, it is clear that “directly held,” as stipulated in Article 10 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act, should not be taken in the literal sense to merely indicate “direct investment by foreigners.” Instead, it should go one step further to include foreign investors achieving the purpose of direct investment in satellite broadcasting enterprises through a 100 percent indirect investment. The GIO concludes, therefore, that the TVBS ownership structure clearly violates Article 10 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act.

In other words, the GIO feels that laws should not be taken literally, but that it is qualified to interpret the intent of those laws (and act accordingly). Glad they’ve sorted that out for us …

In other news, it seems they’re less than keen to prosecute Formosa TV (a pro-Green station) which also seems to be in violation of the broadcasting laws. Presumably they’ve only broken a ‘literal interpretation’ of that law, so there’s nothing to worry about.