Greg So denies stalling new free-to-air TV licences

Commerce Secretary Greg So Kam-leung rejected claims that the government had deliberately delayed issuing new free-to-air television licences on Thursday, saying it had to follow due procedures.

So made the remarks at a Legislative Council meeting as lawmakers passed a non-binding motion urging the government to issue three new licences – which were applied for years ago – by the end of March.

During the debate, pan-democrats questioned why the government had still not made a decision three years after the three applications were submitted.

Civic Party lawmaker Alan Leong Kah-kit contended that there might be political pressure from the mainland barring the issue of new licences.

“The process has been halted because the central government became reluctant to see any new free-to-air broadcasters, after seeing a new radio station deliver a full-out attack on Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying during the election in March,” Leong said.

But So dismissed Leong’s suggestion, saying political considerations were not involved in granting new licences. The government had to go through established procedures, he said, such as getting approval from the chief executive and Executive Council, and giving competing broadcasters enough time to voice their concerns.

“We aim to deal with the matter as quickly as possible, but at the same time we cannot bypass these procedures,” So said.