Tung Chee-hwa last night declared that the editorial independence of RTHK was not under threat, and its future was a matter for Hong Kong people.
He said the Government welcomed criticism from RTHK and the media, and hoped the media would continue to play the role of watchdog over government policies.
'Freedom of speech and information is something we treasure and regard very much. Nobody, I repeat, nobody should doubt the Government's determination in this respect.' Mr Tung was speaking on his return from a three-day trip to Beijing to attend the opening of the National People's Congress annual session.
Fears over the independence of RTHK and a free press erupted after Xu Simin, a senior Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference delegate, attacked the broadcaster and called on Mr Tung to exercise greater control over it.
Mr Tung had several opportunities before leaving for Beijing to condemn the attack on the broadcaster but chose to say only that people were entitled to their opinions.
Last night, he repeated that line, without naming Mr Xu. 'These are personal views. We respect the rights of individuals to express personal views, but they do not represent the views of the central Government.' Mr Tung said he met President Jiang Zemin and Vice-Premiers Zhu Rongji and Qian Qichen, and all expressed determination to make the policy of 'one country, two systems' work and move ahead.
He said: 'RTHK is a Hong Kong issue.
