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Jimmy Cheung

The RTHK staff union has suggested that the public broadcaster should  draw a fixed percentage of general rates revenue as an operational fund to avoid commercial and political interference.

Chairwoman Janet Mak Lai-ching,  of the RTHK Programme Staff Union, said one of the options was to follow the former municipal councils in drawing funds  from rates revenue.

'We don't want taxpayers to shoulder an additional burden. Perhaps we can set aside a fixed percentage of rates revenue to finance our operation,' she said.

The government expects to reap $15 billion from rates in the  2006-07 financial year. RTHK has a $400 million-a-year budget.

'Our $400 million budget roughly means each person in Hong Kong pays $60. That is much cheaper compared to the subscription fees for some cable television channels,' she said.

Ms Mak welcomed the suggestion of the public broadcaster being independent of the government.

The  public-broadcasting review committee has said there is consensus for an independent public broadcaster which does not need to raise advertising revenue.

Ms Mak, who has returned from a lobbying trip to the United Nations in New York last week, agreed the broadcaster should continue to draw funds from the public purse.

She said she was disappointed over not being able to raise the review to a higher agenda of the UN Human Rights Committee.

'But the trip was still useful in that we managed to put our message across, just like reporting to the police in advance when you think something may go wrong.'

She said she had written to the UN committee urging it to include the union's views in its  concluding remarks, due   on Friday. These include the need for legislation to uphold RTHK as a public broadcaster with editorial independence.



Dip into rates revenue to  fund RTHK, urges union