Governance is at stake in TV licensing fallout, observers warn

The storm over free-television licensing may leave a more far-reaching impact on Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's governance than any of his administration's previous crises, as many pro-government allies distance themselves from the decision, observers say.

Last Tuesday's announcement denying Hong Kong Television Network a free-to-air broadcasting licence sparked a protest rally at government headquarters that entered its third day yesterday.

Joseph Wong Wing-ping, former secretary for commerce, industry and technology, said he believed most of the marchers on Sunday were originally politically neutral or even pro-government.

Their opposition to the decision signalled the potential for a crisis of governance, he said.

"It is not a political crisis stirred up by pan-democrats - it has to do with the failure of Leung's decision to impress even his supporters," Wong said.

The controversy has moved from the initial perceived unfairness of leaving high-profile HKTV owner Ricky Wong Wai-kay out of the market, to raising questions over the secrecy of Executive Council deliberations, to allegations that the city's core values are under threat.

Joseph Wong warned the government should not take for granted that the pro-establishment camp would veto a pan-democratic motion to invoke the Legislative Council's powers to demand documents behind the official deliberations. "Pro-establishment lawmakers may not dare to betray their voters after all," he said. The motion, to be prepared by information technology representative Charles Mok, is expected to be put to Legco on November 6.