HONG KONG – The Hong Kong government on Friday asked the city’s public broadcaster to be more strictly supervised by government-appointed advisers, in what pro-democracy activists say is the latest move by authorities to limit freedom of expression. press.
The government released a 157-page report accusing Hong Kong Radio Television, a medium that often criticizes the authorities for lack of transparency and objectivity.
The report came hours after the government announced that the head of the public broadcaster would leave his post six months earlier. His replacement is a public official outside the broadcasting service with no experience in journalism.
For supporters of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement, the problems of RTHK signaled the fate of independent journalism under the intensified crackdown on dissidents. Often compared to the BBC, the station is financed by the government, but promises editorial independence in its statute.
The Hong Kong media authority last year ordered the broadcaster to discipline employees in a program of political satire after deciding that a play had insulted the police force. (The program itself was subsequently suspended.) In August, RTHK removed a podcast that featured an interview with a well-known activist after authorities warned that this could violate security law.
Three months later, the police arrested Choy Yuk-ling, an award-winning RTHK producer who made the documentary about the Mafia attack.
A prominent establishment legislator suggested that RTHK be incorporated into the government’s public relations department. Pro-Beijing figures have filed thousands of complaints against the station and protests outside their offices.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said this month that the number of substantiated complaints against RTHK in recent years was “unacceptable”.
“My position is that RTHK needs to be greatly improved,” she said. “There are many things in Hong Kong that need to be fixed.”
The government report was the product of a seven-month review, which authorities announced last spring in response to “broad public concern” about the broadcaster’s performance. The review was conducted by a senior civil servant, Jessie Ting Yip Yin-mei, who Ms. Lam said was known as her “favorite”.
The report called RTHK’s editorial processes “seriously inadequate” and said there was no clear mechanism for ensuring “appropriate handling of sensitive / controversial issues”. He also accused RTHK of offering “no guarantee” that public complaints were investigated impartially.
He criticized the broadcaster for not actively seeking advice from its government-appointed Council of Consultants. The council is led by figures close to Beijing.
The report said that RTHK should maintain written records of how coverage decisions are made, cultivate a stronger relationship with the advisory board and ensure that the editor-in-chief plays a more active role in formulating coverage.
Some wonder how this more active role will develop under the new announced boss, Patrick Li. Although outgoing editor-in-chief Leung Ka-wing has worked as a reporter and editor at several news organizations, Li, currently the vice -secretary for internal affairs, has no journalistic training.
The government did not explain Leung’s early departure, but said his contract was “terminated in advance by mutual consent”.
In a brief note to employees, Mr. Leung wrote that he was grateful for five and a half years leading the station and was at peace despite some turbulent times, according to a RTHK Facebook post.
Edward Yau, the secretary of the Department of Trade and Economic Development, said at a news conference on Friday that RTHK had been led by non-journalists before. He said the department, which oversees the broadcaster, had sought an internal successor but had not found a suitable candidate.
Yau added that the editor-in-chief would not be solely responsible for guiding programming, although he criticized the existing leadership for adopting a “more passive role”.
The report’s findings were framed as recommendations rather than orders, and officials said there was no set timetable for their approval. RTHK said in a statement that it would “study carefully and follow up” on the report.
Mr. Yau emphasized that RTHK would maintain editorial independence. But, he added, “there will never be editorial autonomy without responsibility, freedom without restrictions.”
Elsie Chen contributed research from Seoul and Liu Yi from Beijing.