The Star Malaysia

HK scraps 24-hour BBC radio service

Mainland channel takes over in what critics say is a sign of encroachin­g Chinese control

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HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s public broadcaste­r RTHK dropped a 24-hour BBC World Service channel from its airwaves, replacing it with state radio from China in what critics say is a sign of encroachin­g Chinese control in the former British colony.

Tensions between Hong Kong and Beijing’s ruling Communist Party leaders have grown in recent years, particular­ly over the “Occupy” civil disobedien­ce movement in 2014 when tens of thousands of protesters blocked roads for 79 days demanding full democracy.

Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise of wide-ranging autonomy under a “one country, two systems” formula.

An online petition, titled “RTHK: Give us back our BBC World Service”, had been signed by nearly 1,000 people in a bid to keep the British broadcaste­r’s round-theclock programmin­g, saying the switch would make Hong Kong “feel more parochial and inward-looking”.

However, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), the city’s main public broadcaste­r, went ahead with scrapping the exclusive BBC channel at midnight on Sunday.

Instead, China National Radio – a state-run outlet carrying no sensitive or critical reporting on China – would be broadcast on its own RTHK channel.

The broadcasts are mostly in Mandarin, rather than the city’s main Cantonese dialect.

Amen Ng, a spokesman for RTHK, said earlier there were no political considerat­ions in the decision and said the Chinese broadcaste­r would enhance cultural exchanges.

She said there would still be BBC World Service broadcasts, although only overnight from 11pm to 7am and occasional­ly on weekends.

Other RTHK staff said the move had been forced through without broader consultati­on.

“Nobody knew anything about it. We were told in a meeting just before it was announced,” said a senior RTHK editorial employee who declined to be identified because he wasn’t authorised to speak to the media.

“People see it as a negative thing. The BBC is generally regarded as independen­t, and (Chinese) state media is not.”

Some listeners said the move could hurt RTHK’s trusted place in the public eye with its self-professed mission for editorial independen­ce, not unlike the BBC after which it was modelled.

“I’m quite disappoint­ed. It’s a shame but I don’t know what we can do, seriously,” said Dorothy Tang, an IT consultant.

Others said the move was in line with a gradual “mainlandis­ation” of Hong Kong that has seen Beijing’s creeping influence in many sectors, including local government, law enforcemen­t, politics, education, the judiciary and the media.

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