No backing down for fiery radio host amid reshuffle
Li Wei-ling says there is a sense of crisis in the media after a controversial decision to remove her from prime-time slot on Commercial Radio
At 8am on November 15, Li Wei-ling arrived at the studios of Commercial Radio in Kowloon Tong. For the influential and outspoken talk-show host, it began as just another day at the office as she dived into brainstorming how to rattle the cages of government ministers across the harbour.
But Li was soon to realise that it was no ordinary Friday. After the weekend, she would no longer be in charge of On A Clear Day, a show in the prime-time breakfast slot that she had hosted for 16 months. Instead, she would be abruptly bumped to a less prominent slot by the station's recently installed chief executive Stephen Chan Chi-wan.
Li was told she would have to go back to hosting an evening show, The Tipping Point, which she had done for several years after joining Commercial Radio in 2004. After initially feeling dejected about the move, Li says she has now found an even greater sense of purpose in her work.
"Before the row, I had thought about quitting the radio job when I reached the decade milestone, to return to a writing career," says Li, who was previously a Chinese-language print journalist.
"But now, I'm very motivated and feel energised to perfect my career as a [radio] journalist, because I feel an unprecedented sense of crisis and pressure engulfing not just Commercial Radio, but the whole media industry in Hong Kong."
The reshuffle was not wholly unexpected. Li had previously publicly disclosed rumours circulating among high-level government sources that taking her off the air was a precondition for the radio station having its licence renewed in 2016.