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TVB hits back at criticism to pull one RTHK show on Xi Jinping for another, less controversial one
Defiant television station urges government to drop requirement that it air the public broadcaster’s programmes
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The row in Hong Kong over TVB’s abrupt pulling of a controversial RTHK current affairs programme escalated with the television station hitting back and accusing the public service broadcaster of being “unprofessional” in saying its replacement programme on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit was unimportant.
Facing about 190 complaints lodged with the watchdog Communications Authority and accusations of political censorship by some pan-democrats, TVB broke its silence with a defiant statement on Wednesday.
It hit back at RTHK’s claims and urged the government to scrap a rule requiring TVB to air RTHK programmes.
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The Communication Authority said it had no plans to change the rule.
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Last Friday night, when Xi was in town to mark the 20th anniversary of the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule, TVB notified RTHK of its decision to pull the latest episode of the programme, Headliner, which poked fun at Xi and made repeated references to the imprisoned Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo. The decision came eight minutes before the programme was supposed to air.
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