Station takes outspoken host off prime-time show
Commercial Radio boss replaces government critic on current affairs programme but denies the decision was politically motivated
Outspoken government critic Lee Wai-ling has been taken off her politically influential morning radio show and replaced by her boss, media veteran Stephen Chan Chi-wan.
Lee will move from hosting Commercial Radio's prime-time morning current affairs programme On A Clear Day to evening show The Tipping Point, a less prominent slot. Chan, the station's chief executive, will host the morning show with two other male hosts from Monday.
The move drew speculation about it being a political decision, as Lee's critical stance has apparently made her unpopular in the eyes of the government and the pro-establishment camp.
Commercial Radio will have to apply to extend its licence by August 25 next year before it expires in 2016. It has been rumoured that taking Lee off the show was part of the deal.
On her Facebook page last night, Lee wrote: "We should be prepared that anything can happen in today's Hong Kong. I will hang in there until the last moment."
Chan denied there was any political agenda behind the move, putting it down to a programming decision instead. "We are not pleasing the government. Commercial Radio has never and will never bow to the government," he said.