A major shareholder's decision to put the Digital Broadcasting Corporation at risk of liquidation by refusing to pump in extra cash is 'politically motivated', the station's co-founder, 'Taipan' Albert Cheng King-hon, says.
Businessman Wong Cho-bau, who came to public attention earlier this year for offering a bargain lease on a luxury Shenzhen penthouse to the then-chief executive, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, reportedly said he planned to cut his losses on his investment in the broadcaster, as it had struggled to generate revenue.
But Cheng put the blame for Wong's reticence on the government, linking it with his own return to the airwaves and his decision to make the defeated chief executive candidate Henry Tang Ying-yen his first interviewee.
'This is all politically motivated. This government seems to want to go all out to suppress the opposition and get those who refuse to toe the line,' Cheng said yesterday. 'Other investors in the station are worried that because of this, the government is dragging its heels on putting the infrastructure in place to allow the further expansion of digital radio.'
Cheng was the popular host of Commercial Radio's controversial talk show Teacup in a Storm until he became a member of the Legislative Council in 2004. He co-founded DBC in 2008 with several partners, sealing a 12-year contract to run a Cantonese-language service.
Cheng said on Friday that the shareholders had 'lost mutual trust,' as they were split on issues related to 'the injection of capital and operational direction'.