Opinion | Don't allow DBC Radio to be silenced
Albert Cheng says local media are duty-bound to speak up against the politically motivated attempt to close DBC Radio, because the city's core values are at stake
The majority of shareholders of DBC Radio decided early this month not to inject further funds into the company, despite an earlier pledge to do so, and are now attempting to liquidate the company and dismiss all staff.
The radio station may cease operation after September 10. The group of shareholders, including banker David Li Kwok-po, his brother Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, chairman of VTech Holdings Allan Wong Chi-yun and DBC chairman Wong Cho-bau, own 50per cent of the shares between them. They have reneged on a promise to pump HK$28million more into the company.
Any new media organisation, regardless of its size and the nature of its operation, should draw widespread public attention. So it has been surprising that the majority of mainstream media outlets seem unmoved and disinterested by the news that DBC may shut down. Only a handful of reports have exposed the political motive behind the attempt to liquidate the company: it was a way to suppress dissenting voices.
From a media standpoint, this has been a failure to safeguard press freedom and freedom of expression. The fact that the radio station's predicament has been greeted with such a deafening silence reveals the ugly truth that Hongkongers who love the city and cherish its core values are far more proactive and daring than our local media when it comes to safeguarding our fundamental interests.
Many of the station's supporters have spoken up and acted on our behalf in a bid to drum up public support to promote our cause. By staying quiet, the media is effectively condoning or encouraging political suppression.