The National Communication Commission (NCC) stood firm Monday on its decision to revoke the license of a TV entertainment channel for what it said was the use of embedded advertisement. Faced with criticisms in the legislature by lawmakers across the political spectrum, NCC Chairwoman Su Herng said ERA TV had failed to honor its promise to stop the practice of clandestine advertising on its entertainment channel and therefore had to be penalized. In revoking the channel's license on Dec. 22, the NCC said ERA TV's entertainment channel had repeatedly violated the Satellite and Broadcasting Act by placing illegal product ads and excessive infomercials in its program line- ups. When the station's license came up for its sixth annual renewal in November last year, the NCC review committee, in consideration of the staff employed at the station, decided to renew the license on condition that ERA would stop advertising certain products on its shows, Su told the lawmakers. However, the station did not hold up its end of the bargain and the NCC brought to bear the penalty for the total of 46 violations that the station had racked up in six years, Su said. 'It was like telling a student who deserved to be expelled that you would hold off on the punishment if he promised to behave, ' she said. 'When the student continued to violate the rules there was no choice but to execute the penalty.' But legislators of both the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) and opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took issue with Su's explanation, saying that NCC, an independent media regulator that was established in 2006, had overstepped its authority and was loosely interpreting the relevant laws. KMT Lawmaker Sun Ta-chien, who was one of the advocates of the NCC's establishment four years ago, said it was setting a bad precedent and had made a non-objective decision. 'There is no legal basis for determining that 46 violations in six years amount to a serious offense, ' Sun said. 'Furthermore, the NCC has no clear-cut parameters or definition of what is product placement.' Sun also argued that since ERA TV had bought the station from the Eastern Multimedia Group two years ago, ERA should be held accountable only for the violations incurred during its period of ownership. Two other KMT legislators, Luo Shu-lei and Chu Fong-chi, also slammed the NCC's decision, saying it had gone beyond its jurisdiction and twisted the laws. The NCC should have temporarily suspended the operations of the station instead of revoking its license, they said. Joining the chorus of criticisms against the NCC, DPP Lawmaker Pan Meng-an said it was a government tool used to control the media. Kuo Wen-chen, also of the DPP, said the NCC should leave the public to deal with the ERA TV channel issue. 'Viewers will switch to another channel if they don't like what they see,' Kuo said. 'It should be their choice.' Bucking the wave of criticisms, senior KMT lawmaker and former teacher Hung Hsiu-chu said the NCC had done the right thing. 'If a driver's license is subject to periodical renewal based on the holder's driving record, why should a TV station be any different? ' he asked. 'Some broadcasts such as infomercials contain misleading information that could seriously damage the health of consumers,' she said. 'The NCC must step in and root out these practices to prevent people from being duped.' 