Perspective... Future of press freedom in the hands of RTHK chief

Unsurprisingly, the confirmation of Franklin Wong as director of broadcasting has been met with mixed feelings. But with key questions unanswered - most notably the future role and structure of RTHK - finding the right candidate to please everyone was never going to be easy.

Whether by default or a process of elimination, Wong has landed in the hot seat. In many ways, he is a less objectionable choice for the role.

He has a strong broadcasting background, including a nine-year stint at RTHK. He played a key role in the organisation’s venture into TV production, including the popular series Below the Lion Rock in the 70s, which ran through to the 90s at a time when RTHK was shedding its image as a Government mouthpiece.

He also has experience at satellite broadcaster Astro Malaysia, Singapore’s MediaCorp and China-based producer CultureLink. But these are organisations not particularly known for their media freedoms, and critics have focused much attention on this. But, to put things into perspective, would a candidate with a career in organisations that are managed free of Government control have the appropriate skills (and tolerance) to deal with the politics and bureaucracy that will inevitably come with the RTHK job?

Wong has taken a position which few will envy.

Essentially, he faces the daunting task of leading an RTHK in turmoil and managing its reform as a new public-service broadcaster.

His appointment, however, throws no more clarity on the future of the organisation. And, at 65, it has to be questioned whether Wong is merely taking on a caretaker role.

Freedom of the press is at stake. Radio is not only popular, but also influential in Hong Kong. In the 70s, RTHK started patterning itself after the BBC. However, this earned it the ire of local factions which complained that the station’s proper job was to promote, not criticise, Government initiatives.

Indeed, the Government regards RTHK, which is legally part of the civil service, as an irritant at best, a damaging critic at worst. It allows a broad range of opinion, including mild satire and programmes that often challenge official proposals. The question is, will RTHK be cut, restricted or turned into a Government mouthpiece? Or, is there still a shred of hope that it will evolve into a subsidised but separate identity?

Internally, morale is particularly low at RTHK, as one employee after another has been led to court, convicted of swindling script-writing service fees or other fraudulent practices that operationally fell into grey areas and escaped scrutiny for years. The pursuit to weed out past wrongs appears to have generated a kind of terror within.

RTHK hasn’t seen the last of this unwelcome publicity arising from loose accounting controls and (Wong’s predecessor) Chu Pui-hing’s sensational resignation over a sex scandal. But as the legal process runs its course, the broadcaster and the Government should be looking to the future.

Whether Wong has been given some inkling of the Government’s vision for the future of public broadcasting and RTHK’s role, it’s hard to say. However, many observers expect that any new entity formed won’t be RTHK, or even a recast of the organisation, for that matter.

Wong’s priority now should be to stand up for the broadcaster in vital talks that determine its future and safeguard its independence.