Editorial | More oversight of public broadcaster a political challenge
- RTHK is a precious public asset and this is no time for it to be mired in recrimination. Rather, it is time to move ahead and strive for a mix of accountability and professionalism that answers critics
To the dismay of defenders of an independent RTHK, the government has apparently been unable to find an acceptable person with a media background who would have been prepared to undertake such a publicly accountable role. It has, instead, turned to a trusted senior bureaucrat, Deputy Home Affairs Secretary Patrick Li Pak-chuen.
Commerce and Economic Development Secretary Edward Yau Tang-wah says Li is the right man for the job. But there remain those fearful for RTHK’s future as an independent broadcaster. Yau has given assurances that newsroom staff will not be shackled by stifling procedures, such as having to report their work to every level of management. That is reassuring given that the rebuilding of a system of accountability naturally gives rise to uncertainties. What supervisory role the government adopts, and how it plays it, remains a politically challenging issue that will be closely watched by all sides.
The announcement of former director Leung Ka-wing’s early exit omitted thanks for his five years’ service, which did no justice to his efforts to bring the broadcaster’s operations up to date during troubled and competitive times under constraints on resources. RTHK’s defenders may bemoan the new director’s lack of a media background. That does not mean he cannot reconcile better oversight with respect for the professional qualities still needed for the best of RTHK’s journalism. That is the challenge, and the best answer to those who would clip its wings.