Apple has healthy lesson for instant experts
RADIO IS A TRICKY medium. Presenters often cannot afford the luxury of time to check their facts and those of others before they are broadcast. Casual listeners are thus in constant danger of being misled by instant experts on the airwaves.
Last Friday, Talkabout on RTHK's Radio 1 picked up a Ming Pao report on Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's instruction to his senior colleagues that English be used at meetings.
A Cantonese speaker from New York, who recently had visited Hong Kong, called to express his displeasure at what he despised as substandard English in the SAR.
The man objected to the use of the phrase 'false ceiling' in a notice posted by the MTRC. He asserted that the word 'false' was redundant. The hosts promised to relay his criticism to the company.
The problem is there was no case for complaint. Ceiling and false ceiling refer to different structures. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the latter as 'a dummy ceiling fixed below the genuine one (e.g. to accommodate wires, conduits, etc.)', while the Webster's New International Dictionary describes it as 'a ceiling that is hung some distance below the ceiling joists'.
The presenters of the programme yesterday were toying with the idea of inviting Premier Zhu Rongji and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou to take over Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's job.
It was meant to be a light-hearted comment and they swiftly pointed out that these two charismatic leaders did not meet the residency requirement anyway.
One of the hosts said the pair would not qualify for they had not resided in Hong Kong for seven years.
Article 44 of the Basic Law stipulates: 'The Chief Executive of the HKSAR shall be a Chinese citizen . . . and has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than 20 years.'
Both the district councils' and Legislative Council ordinances, on the other hand, specify that a candidate needs to have 'ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for the three years immediately preceding the nomination'. No electoral law imposes a seven-year prerequisite.
About two weeks ago, RTHK Radio 2's Morning Suite dwelt on the first Harry Potter movie. A presenter noted the bestseller now comprised five books.
This could have been an exciting piece of news for millions of Muggles out there, had book five hit the bookshops. The truth as far as her upcoming fifth novel is concerned is that J.K. Rowling has only managed to unveil the title of the sequel - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
The hosts also stated their views about the choice of Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter. Like Harry in the HK$975 million movie, Daniel was 11 when he was first selected for the role last year. They were worried the boy would soon become too mature for the sequels, saying it was impossible to stop the kid growing.
Rowling has managed to produce a sequel about every year since the debut of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 1997. More importantly, she has allowed the teenage wizard to be promoted to the next grade in each book. That means, if Warner Brothers can keep up with its schedule, the choice of an 11-year-old is perfect.
In a recent Chinese University survey, the Apple Daily was ranked among the three least credible local daily newspapers. The paper has set aside a regular segment for corrections.
It may be a good idea for radio stations to borrow the idea so that those who care know what to erase from their daily dose of radio.
Andy Ho is a political commentator
