The opposition party confirmed it sold all its BCC shares, together with two channels, to Jaw Shau-kong, former board chairman of the UFO Broadcasting Company.

“Those two channels cannot be transferred,” Cheng said.

They have to be returned to the National Communication Commission at the end of next June, said Cheng, who doubles as spokesman for the Cabinet.

Licenses to operate the two channels, one for music and the other for agricultural news, expire by the end of June and cannot be renewed, Cheng pointed out.

He admitted the NCC automatically renewed the licenses until 2010. “But,” he said, “the NCC did not make clear whether the ‘twilight’ rule should apply.”

By the “twilight” rule Cheng meant the one laid down before the extension that stipulates there should be no license renewal for those two channels after two years.

“We are requesting a Cabinet decision on the application of the ‘twilight’ rule,” Cheng pointed out.

Premier Su Tseng-chang said the Kuomintang couldn’t sell the BCC, which is part of its ill-gotten assets.

“Instead,” Su said, “Ma Ying-jeou has to return the BCC to the government.”

Ma stepped down as mayor of Taipei Monday. He now serves as full-time chairman of the Kuomintang.

Tsai Huang-liang, DPP deputy secretary-general, also called on the Kuomintang to stop selling the BCC and return “that ill-gotten asset” to the government.

The Kuomintang made no response.

Jaw confirmed he bought the BCC. “But not all the land it owns,” he said.

He said he would try to make his newly acquired station “a really professional one.” He did not say if there is trouble getting the two licenses transferred, but the BCC has many more channels he can operate.

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