RTHK Faces Barrage Of Criticism At Legco Panel

Lawmakers were split along the political divide on their support and criticism for RTHK as the broadcaster again became a topic of discussion at a Legco panel meeting.

The station's chief, Leung Ka-wing, offered what he called a sincere apology to those offended by a personal-view programme criticising the police's handling of the anti-government protests.

Leung came under fire from pro-government lawmakers for what they called the station's biased and unprofessional programmes.

In particular, they were upset about an episode of the show Pentaprism aired last November, in which the Education University's Sam Choi quoted a foreign correspondent comparing the Hong Kong police to a terrorist group.

The director of broadcasting told Legco's IT and broadcasting panel that immediate remedies had been made regarding that show, even before the Communications Authority gave RTHK a warning over the programme.

But he refused to say whether relevant staff had been penalised over the episode, saying it's a matter of privacy.

The criticism didn't stop at that one show, however.

New People's Party leader Regina Ip again took a jab at a reporter for The Pulse for asking a senior WHO official whether Taiwan could join the organisation.

Ip said it would be unimaginable, for example, for a national Spanish broadcaster to ask whether Catalonia could join the WHO, saying such things are always an issue for sovereign states.

However, Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai defended the reporter, noting she did not refer to Taiwan as a country.

In reply, the RTHK chief said he kept emphasising the One China principle to colleagues, to the point that, he said, staff find him "annoying".

The Commerce Bureau oversees RTHK, and for his part, minister Edward Yau said he understands that there are some Hongkongers who love RTHK programmes, but the station also faces its fair share of criticism. He said the latter cannot be ignored.