TNAG-2278-FCO40-3278-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Radio-Television-Hong-Kong-Board-of-Gove-1991 — Page 199

CONFIDENTIAL

XCC(91)143

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

existing civil servants in RTHK should be encouraged to bridge over to the new organization, but should also be given the option to remain as civil servants;

RTHK's output should be subject to regulation by the Broadcasting Authority in a similar way to the output of the commercial licensees;

the terms and conditions of RTHK employees in the new organization should be broadly comparable to those applicable to the civil service; and

the Chairman of the RTHK Board should be identified as soon as possible with a view to his/her holding an informal watching brief over the Administration's preparations for the establishment of the corporation particularly on the legislative, financial and staffing arrangements.

Proposed arrangements for the disestablishment of RTHK are the subject of memorandum XCC(91)142*.

4

With reference to the Council's requirement that the Corporation's output should be subject to regulation by the Broadcasting Authority (BA) in a similar way to the output of the commercial licensees, we have examined the matter very carefully and have concluded that RTHKC is different from commercial broadcasters in a number of ways.

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First, the Board of RTHKC will have no financial stake in the fortunes of the Corporation. Second, the Board itself can be expected to have a regulatory role as regards RTHKC's output similar to the role of the BA vis a vis the commercial broadcasters' output. Third, RTHKC will be funded mainly by government subvention. Fourth, the policies governing its operations are laid down in legislation. Fifth, that RTHKC is the public broadcaster is a prime consideration. For these reasons, we do not think it appropriate for RTHKC to be regulated by the BA in exactly the same way as the commercial broadcasters. In particular, any sanction involving financial penalty as may currently be applied to commercial television and radio licensees would result merely in a transfer of money from one government pocket to another, and would hit programme-making capability rather than indent into profits. Thus, the penal effect being applied to the commercial licensees would be wrongly targetted if applied to RTHKC.

* To be read in conjunction with this memorandum.

Executive Council