RTHK will not live broadcast Hong Kong National Party founder Andy Chan’s FCC speech, saying it should not be used as platform for independence
Order from RTHK chief Leung Ka-wing sparked accusations of self-censorship and interference with press freedom
Hong Kong’s public broadcaster will not live stream a speech by the founder of a separatist party the government is seeking to ban, saying it should not be used as a platform to advocate independence.
Director of Broadcasting Leung Ka-wing on Thursday said his decision not to air on RTHK next Tuesday’s talk by Hong Kong National Party leader Andy Chan Ho-tin at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) had nothing to do with press freedom.
RTHK quoted Leung as saying the station had never given live coverage to a speech by a politician in the past.
The broadcaster’s head of corporate communications, Amen Ng Man-yee, also quoted Leung as stating: “RTHK, as a public broadcaster, should not be used as a platform to advocate Hong Kong independence.”
She said Leung had made it clear it was acceptable to cover the issue of independence, given that Chan was recently invited as a guest on a round table discussion show on RTHK, but a live broadcast of a “solo-talk advocating independence” was going too far.