TNAG-1555-FCO40-2119-Broadcasting-in-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 359

1

*

- 4.

Governors should not be appointed by the Governor but in a way which would increase its accountability and give the public a say - for example by involving Leg Co members in the Board. The call for independence was heard most strongly from organisations representing social welfare and education fields, although the majority of political interests groups were in favour too.

5.

A large majority of submissions expressed dissatisfaction with the standard, content and moral influence of much of the programming on the commercial stations, arguing that a public broadcaster was the only means of rectifying these problems.

6.

Two or three submissions argued that to establish an independent public broadcaster was too radical a change in a time when continuity and stability should be the watchwords. It was suggested that firm government control would be needed to guide the population in an objective way during the transitional period. The question was raised whether a change in the status of RTHK would be contrary to the spirit of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

The Proposal for RTHK to Have a Monopoly of Prime Time and be Funded by Advertising

1.

The numerical majority of commentators, particularly those from commercial and industrial sectors, were opposed to this proposal by the BRB. A number of arguments were marshalled: that it was unfair to the two commercial stations and would fatally wound the weaker stations; that a public broadcaster would attract insufficient advertising revenue and would thus not be financially viable; that standards would drop if the broadcaster was subject to commercial constraints, and that independence would suffer as a result of commercial pressure. Several submissions instead proposed continued government support for the public broadcaster, either through a UPGC style of subventions or through the channelling of royalties.

8.

It should be noted that a very substantial minority of submissions, particularly those emanating from education and welfare sectors, supported the proposal as the most effective means to guarantee public access to good quality television.