Ex-RTHK deputy criticises director Roy Tang's leadership

Friday, 15 March, 2013, 4:03am

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Roy Tang Yun-kwong. Photo: Dickson Lee

A dispute over alleged political censorship at the government-run RTHK continued unabated yesterday as a former deputy director of broadcasting weighed in to criticise the current chief.

Raymond Ng Sek-fai described as "inconceivable" the way broadcasting director Roy Tang Yun-kwong was handling the issue, which he said had thrust RTHK into mayhem not seen in the past three decades.

Ng also threw his support behind erstwhile subordinate Forever Sze Wing-yuen. He said he trusted Sze's claims that Tang may be on a political mission to "fix" the quasi-public broadcaster. He hinted at Tang's possible conflicting roles: as a government administrative officer who is also chief editor of RTHK.

"From the outset, he has had problems building up mutual trust with the staff," he told Commercial Radio yesterday. "I have known Sze a long time and he is a respected staff member. If he has publicly said he is under political pressure, I would trust it is a real issue."

Ng retired in 2006 after more than 32 years at the station. Sze is still there after about 30 years and is now acting assistant director of television and corporate business. Tang was appointed to lead RTHK in 2011.

Tang is accused of meddling with editorial independence after he asked subordinates to explain why they had originally suggested using a Nazi character in satirical television show Headliner.

RTHK staff union chairwoman Janet Mak Lai-ching called Tang's moves "mental censorship", while Sze told Commercial Radio he was facing "the biggest pressure ever" since he joined the station.

Tang is expected to attend a meeting with staff members today.

This article first appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition on Mar 15, 2013 as Ex-RTHK deputy hits out at Tang leadership

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This article is now closed to comments

Snake Eyes Mar 16th 2013
10:35am

I read the Tang memo in the newspaper. None of us knows whether Tang has a political mission or not. He may have. We may be scared sheep seeing monsters under every rock. But memos like this do not prove that. In any department, if a disaster had almost happened but been averted, a good AO would send out exactly this memo. "What went wrong? How did it get so far? What checks and balances failed?" Yes, it may not be appropriate in a creative organisation where it could feel oppressive, but that could have been explained to Mr Tang in a well worded memo response. This may be an example of a clash of AO style with the values of a broadcaster, more than evidence of a political mission. The more troubling issue in this is the initial leak to Sing Tao newspaper, which seemed to come from someone quite high up in RTHK management (because this issue was not widely known) but that seemed deliberately engineered to blow up this controversy and demean the Headliner team.

wrath of God ! Mar 15th 2013
12:20pm

Being a current director of broadcasting and an experienced A.O.(once a honour in the British colonial days when this rank/post was considered to be elites in the government), this Tang Yun-kwong has disgraced his colleagues of his grade, not to say a nuisance in the public broadcaster---RTHK where he was and still is an outsider who bears a hidden mission---to clean it up by getting rid of all those suspected pro-western values staff and anti-Beijing/SAR administration as soon as possible so as to make the station become another Central People's Radio Station----a government mouthpiece only, even at the cost of losing lots of loyal audience !

Snake Eyes Mar 16th 2013
10:38am

"an outsider who bears a hidden mission" Evidence please. Not "vague feelings".

wrath of God ! Mar 15th 2013
10:50am

I believe most Hongkongers, like this Old Hong Kong---a long-time audience/fan of RTHK would choose to believe what Forever Sze Wing-yuen said during his interview with Ms Lee Wai-ling in her phone-in radio programme.This air-dropped A.O.Tang Yun-kwong's role might probably be to clear up so-called the mess at the public broadcaster-----accused by local pro-Beiing and pro-government elements as producing satrical programmes against the SAR administration ever since Mr.C.H.Tung's era and the station has long been occupied by a bunch of anti-PRC and pro-British colonists since Ms Cheung Man-yee's era.Right ? That explains what Roy Tang Yun-kwong did in the past one and a half years at the organisation----one of the four tasks promised by C.Y.Leung to the Liaison Office-----to clean up/tidy up RTHK and make it a government mouthpiece in the end---Tang's sacred mission and only mission maybe !

Snake Eyes Mar 16th 2013
1:36pm

Good conspiracy theory, and one that started when Mr Tang entered RTHK for the very first time and before he had made a single move. What's lacking is a shred of evidence.