'Train RTHK Staff To Promote National Identity'

RTHK's board of advisers have suggested that there should be training for staff to help them better understand the public broadcaster's charter, as well as its role in promoting civic society and national identity.

A working group set up by the board met with the Director of Broadcasting Leung Ka-wing on Monday morning to discuss the station's complaints mechanism.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, board chairman Eugene Chan said, "Our advice is to ensure the charter would be fully instilled amongst our colleagues [so that they] do not only [know] the words, but [know] the spirit and intent, and hopefully the culture can be expressed in all our programmes, such as when we have to promote our civic society and also our national identity."

On the broadcaster's complaints mechanism, Chan said he hopes the board can be notified about major complaints, and that the director of broadcasting can be more open to the public.

"He said to us that being a media person he would prefer to choose a low-profile stance, and he would delegate others to speak on behalf of him, but I have said categorically that being the leader, being the chief editor, the public, the staff, would look to his leadership," Chan said.

Chan stressed that the role of the board is not to deal with complaints directly, but that as a courtesy it should be notified about major complaints against programmes.

The public broadcaster is currently the subject of a government-led management review, following a series of controversies over its programmes which have been accused of being biased and anti-police.