The National Communications Commission (NCC) slapped TV stations in Taiwan with fines totalling NT$22.57 million (US$690,000) in the first half of the year for violating broadcasting regulations, an NCC official said Wednesday. Ho Chi-sen, head of the NCC Broadcasting and Contents Department, publicized earlier in the day a report on the NCC's monitoring of the broadcast media in the first six months of the year. He said that the NCC had confirmed 82 violations, including the airing of heavily commercialized programs, during that period. More than 1,000 people had filed complaints related to TV, radio and Internet content between January and June, he said, adding that most of the complaints were about the broadcast of programs hardly distinguishable from commercials. There were also many complaints about news programs and drama shows, he added. As part of efforts to encourage more people to monitor media content, the NCC launched a Web site in January to allow the public to file complaints. The complaints could be entered under the categories of departure from the TV program classification system, violations of the regulations on the broadcast of commercials, and concerns regarding the protection of children and youth. 