Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority Commissioner Eddy Chan Yuk-tak, criticised the RTHK 'Taleban' skit.
He said, 'In the United Kingdom, it would be unthinkable if there was a programme which constantly berated one political party.'
Mr Chan is mistaken. The UK has a long tradition of one-sided TV-based political satire beginning with That Was The Week That Was. It poured scorn on Harold Wilson when he was prime minister in the 1960s.
Regina Ip thinks she's harshly treated. Hong Kong has nothing as tasteless as Spitting Image when Margaret Thatcher was premier. Maybe it is to Mrs Ip's credit that she's not as thick-skinned as Mrs Thatcher was. These UK programmes often attacked just one party - the party of government, which is a far more attractive target for the satirist than the opposition, because the government has power.
Mr Chan does not seem to appreciate that the attraction of political satire is the opportunity it gives ordinary people to see an attack on the powerful. It lets them laugh at the source of their frustrations. Politically mature rulers understand that satire is a safety valve, through which people let off steam against perceived incompetence.
Satire is also a valuable indicator to the Government of points sensitive to the citizen.
