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The Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mr Joseph WP Wong, issued today (January 23) the following statement on the Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) issue:
"The Broadcasting Authority (BA) made a ruling last Saturday (January 20) on a public complaint against an RTHK television programme. The BA strongly advised RTHK to observe more closely the provisions of the codes of practice on programme standards regarding impartiality, family viewing policy, and likely effects of all material shown on television on children. RTHK issued a statement afterwards in response to the ruling.
"I am concerned about the RTHK statement, mainly because it did not mention that RTHK would accept the BA's recommendation and would comply strictly with the relevant codes of practice.
"I met with the Director of Broadcasting yesterday (January 22), and reminded him that RTHK had an inescapable responsibility to fulfil its obligations under the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the policy bureau and the BA by being subject to the regulatory control of the BA.
"The Director made it clear to me that RTHK is committed to complying with the BA's codes of practice on programme standards, and this commitment is clearly stated in RTHK's Producers' Guidelines. There is no question of RTHK not complying with BA's ruling in the present case. The Director will take appropriate measures to ensure that RTHK makes reference to BA's ruling during the process of their programme production.
"To avoid misunderstanding by the public, I wish to stress that the reason I am handling the case is to ensure that RTHK fulfils the responsibilities that it has undertaken with regard to the relevant codes of practice. There is no question of interfering with RTHK's programming arrangements."
Ends/Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:28
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