Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the
public broadcasting
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the
Commerce and Economic Development Bureau
The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for policy matters on Hong Kong's external commercial relations, inward investment promotion, intellectual property protection, industry and ...
of the
Hong Kong Government
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...
that directly supported by annual government funding, RTHK's educational, entertainment, and public affairs programmes are broadcast on its eight radio channels and four television channels, as well as
commercial television
Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (an ...
channels.
History
![Hong-Kong-Emmas-Radio-Show-RTHK-Radio-Sep-07-2001-00](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Hong-Kong-Emmas-Radio-Show-RTHK-Radio-Sep-07-2001-00.JPG)
The
British Hong Kong
Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...
Government launched its first radio broadcasting station, known as "GOW", on 20 June 1928, with a starting staff of only six people.
Several name changes occurred over the next few years, and it eventually became known as "Radio Hong Kong" (RHK) () in 1948.
In 1949, broadcasting operations were taken over by the
Government Information Services (GIS), but by 1954, RHK had managed to establish itself as an independent department. Up until 1966, the radio station was only on-air for three periods during the day; at morning, lunchtime, and evening. This was partly due to many of the presenters being part-time freelancers who had to fit their radio appearances in with their normal daily working schedule.
In 1969, the station's
medium wave
Medium wave (MW) is the part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. During the daytime ...
AM transmitting station was moved from a waterfront site in
Hung Hom
Hung Hom () is an area in the southeast of Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Including the area of Whampoa, Tai Wan, Hok Yuen, Lo Lung Hang and No. 12 Hill are administratively part of the Kowloon City District, with a portion west of Hung Ho ...
to the summit of Golden Hill in the
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
. Although the new transmitters were much more powerful, the mountain-top site proved unsuitable for medium wave transmissions and reception in some areas has remained problematic ever since. In March 1969, RHK moved its headquarters to new purpose-built studios located at Broadcasting House () in
Kowloon Tong
Kowloon Tong () is an area of Hong Kong located in Kowloon. The majority of the area is in the Kowloon City District. Its exaclocationis south of the Lion Rock, north of Boundary Street, east of the East Rail line and west of Grampian Road. It i ...
.
A Public Affairs Television Unit was established in 1970 to produce TV programmes for required broadcast by independent channels. At that time, RTHK did not have its own television broadcast transmitters.
In 1973, RTHK set up its own radio newsroom. Prior to this, all news had been prepared by Government Information Services staff. Until 1969, headlines were sent to the studios every half-hour by
teleprinter
A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations. Initia ...
from the GIS headquarters in
Central District, while the three daily full bulletins were hand-delivered by a messenger. This arrangement became impractical following the move to the new studios in 1969, so initially a GIS newsroom was set up in Broadcasting House. This arrangement also proved unsatisfactory and RTHK's own journalists, who until then had been confined to producing magazine programmes, took over the entire news operation.
In 1976, the station's name was changed to "Radio Television Hong Kong" (RTHK) to reflect its new involvement in television programme production. In the same year, it began to produce educational television programmes for schools after absorbing the previously independent Educational Television Unit.
In 1986, RTHK headquarters moved across the road to the former
Commercial Television
Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (an ...
studios, which were renamed Television House. The station's first news and financial news channel, Radio 7, was established in November 1989.
In December 1994, RTHK launched its website and made its television productions, as well as content from its seven radio channels, available online. The website provided live broadcasts as well as a twelve-month archive (with the exception of
HKCEE
The Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE, 香港中學會考) was a standardised examination between 1974 and 2011 after most local students' five-year secondary education, conducted by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment ...
and
HKALE
The Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE, 香港高級程度會考), or more commonly known as the A-level, conducted by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), was taken by senior students at the end of their matric ...
broadcasts in RTHK2 due to copyright issues with the
Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority
The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), previously known as the Hong Kong Examinations Authority (HKEA) before 2002, is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Government responsible for the administration of public examination ...
). The website, presented in English,
Traditional Chinese
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
, and
Simplified Chinese
Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to:
Mathematics
Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example
* Simplification of algebraic expressions, ...
, initially offered free news via email three times per day, as well as online content.
In 2013, RTHK trialled and launched a new television channel. To support this new television operation, the government administration increased the station's funding by between HK$300 million and HK$400 million a year.
In April 2016, RTHK took over the analogue channel frequencies of
Asia Television
Asia Television Limited (, also known as ATV) is a digital media and broadcasting company in Hong Kong. Established as the first television service in Hong Kong as Rediffusion Television () on 29 May 1957, it shifted to terrestrial televisio ...
(ATV) after the latter's free television licence expired.
In March 2017, as the Hong Kong government decided to terminate DAB services in Hong Kong, RTHK said that it would integrate the existing DAB programmes into existing AM and FM radio channels. As the government claimed that RTHK would stop DAB service within six months, meaning DAB service would be terminated no later than 30 September 2017.
[Statement of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) on the termination of Digital Audio Broadcasting services]
, RTHK, 28 March 2017
With the termination of DAB+ in Hong Kong, RTHK announced in August 2017 that the broadcaster's relay of
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
on Radio 6 would be reduced to 8 hours a day and move to an overnight slot on Radio 4; Radio 6 would instead relay
China National Radio
China National Radio (CNR; ; pronunciation: ) is the national radio network of China, headquartered in Beijing.
History
The infrastructure began with a transmitter from Moscow to set up its first station in Yan'an (延安). It used the call ...
's programme 14 which targets Hong Kong. CNR's programme 14 was previously heard on RTHK DAB 2 until DAB services in Hong Kong were shut down.
[National Radio to replace RTHK's BBC relay]
, RTHK, 11 August 2017[Radio silence: 24-hour broadcast of BBC World Service dropped in Hong Kong]
, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 13 August 2017
Since 2020, RTHK programmes are no longer broadcast on TVB channels. In February 2021 it announced it would cease entirely relaying
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
radio broadcasts following Chinese government criticism of the BBC.
Leung Ka-wing, Director of Broadcasting, said it was his decision to follow Beijing's lead in shutting off BBC, and that "Hong Kong is part of China and Radio Television Hong Kong is a department of the HKSAR Government. The decision has nothing to do with news operations."
2021 management change
Following complaints from pro-Beijing politicians and groups for alleged bias against the police and the government, the government initiated a review of operations at the broadcaster.
[ In February 2021, the ]Commerce and Economic Development Bureau
The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for policy matters on Hong Kong's external commercial relations, inward investment promotion, intellectual property protection, industry and ...
issued a report on RTHK's governance and management at a press briefing in which the broadcaster was criticised as having "weak editorial accountability". It was further alleged in the report that there were no clear records of its decision-making process on controversial and sensitive matters, while complaints handling was said to lack "sufficient transparency." The government announced the Director of Broadcasting Leung Ka-wing would leave his post six months prior to the expiry of his contract, and that he would be replaced by incumbent Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Li – a career civil servant without experience in broadcasting.[
In August 2021, RTHK partnered with the mainland China Media Group, in a move that RTHK said was intended to strengthen "patriotism" in its programs.
]
Eddie Cheung
Eddie Cheung took over as head of RTHK in October 2022. In November 2022, he said that "RTHK and other government departments, including the police, should cooperate seamlessly to serve citizens."
Radio
Stations
RTHK operates eight radio stations:
Radio programmes
* RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards
Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards () is one of the main C-pop music award in Hong Kong. The award is sponsored by RTHK. Beginning in 1978, it is the oldest major award in Hong Kong, even earlier than the Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards. The cer ...
Television
Channels
RTHK operates four television channels:
The analogue television channels (TV31A and TV33A) ceased broadcasting on 30 November 2020.
Television programmes
Public affairs
RTHK primarily produces public affairs programmes such as ''Hong Kong Connection
''Hong Kong Connection'' (), formerly ''The Common Sense'', is a long-running news documentary television programme produced by Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK. It mainly covers Hong Kong politics, economics, education, disadvantaged, environme ...
'' (), '' Headliner'' (), ''A Week in Politics'' (), ''Media Watch'' (), ''Pentaprism'' (), ''Access'' (), '' The Pulse'' and ''Police Report
In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...
'' (). These are also broadcast by Hong Kong's three commercial television channels, TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...
, ViuTV
ViuTV is a Cantonese language general entertainment television channel in Hong Kong operated by HK Television Entertainment (HKTVE), whose parent company PCCW also operates the IPTV platform Now TV and the media streaming service Viu. The chann ...
and HKIBC, in addition to RTHK's own television network. The government has lifted the requirement since March 2020, therefore TVB no longer broadcasts them.
Dramas
It has also produced TV dramas, including the classic ''Below the Lion Rock
''Below the Lion Rock'' () is a TV show about the lives of Hong Kong citizens. It was broadcast five times, each forming its own series, from 1972 to 1979, 1984 to 1988, 1990, 1992 to 1995, 2006, 2014 to 2020. Each series was a collection of unrel ...
'' ().
ETV
RTHK and the Hong Kong Education Bureau
The Education Bureau (EDB) is responsible for formulating and implementing education policies in Hong Kong.
The bureau is headed by the Secretary for Education and oversees agencies including University Grants Committee and Student Fina ...
jointly produce Educational Television
Educational television or learning television is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. It may be in the form of individual television programs or dedicated specialty channels that is often associated with cable telev ...
(ETV, ), a series of educational programmes for primary and secondary students – airing during non-peak hours on RTHK stations. ETV was first broadcast in 1971 for Primary 3 students and was extended to Primary 6 students in 1974. In 1978, it was extended to cover junior secondary (Form 1-Form 3) students. RTHK formerly broadcast these programmes on their stations during non-peak daytime hours.
While school programmes covering the topics of English, Chinese, Mathematics and Mandarin Chinese are provided to both primary and secondary students, Science and Humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
programmes are provided for secondary school students only and General Studies programmes are designed for primary students only.
There has been confusion between ETV and the ETV division of RTHK. Besides school ETV programmes, the ETV division of RTHK produces public educational television programmes for general viewers, such as ''Road Back'' (), ''Anti-Drug Special'' (), ''Sex Education'' (), and ''Doctor and You'' ().
The nature documentary ''Biodiversity in Hong Kong'' (大自然大不同) follows the style of BBC Planet Earth but is narrated in Cantonese. It showcases the ecosystem and biodiversity of Hong Kong.
The high production cost of school ETV programmes was criticised by the Audit Commission. In 2017–18, the production cost of school ETV programmes was a staggering HK$1.58 million per hour.
Awards
RTHK has received multiple awards for its reporting on the 2019 Hong Kong protests, such as from the 50th US International Film and Video Festival, the 2020 New York TV and Film Awards, and the 24th Human Rights Press Awards.
RTHK won an award for an episode of ''Hong Kong Connection'' about the 2019 Yuen Long attack, but declined the award and said it would not accept any awards during its "transition period" under its new director.
Controversies
Misconduct
In 2002, a former Chief Programme Officer was convicted of misconduct
Misconduct is wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. It is an act which is forbidden or a failure to do that which is required. Misc ...
in public office. The charges related to approving salary increases for one RTHK employee without complying with procedures.
On 8 June 2006, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong arrested four people on corruption-related charges, including a deputy head of RTHK 2 and a disc jockey, who were arrested for committing scams totalling about HK$70,000 from 1995 to 2001. They were alleged to have conspired and sold scripts for various programmes that they did not write. Another former disc jockey and her mother were alleged to have aided the conspiracy by using their bank accounts by receiving payments from the radio station. All four were arrested and were released on bail.
RTHK was also criticised by the Audit Commission of the Hong Kong Government for its problems on complying with regulations on staff management. The report especially highlighted the misuse of public funds by the RTHK staff on entertainment expenses, overtime claims and the outsourcing of services.
In July 2007, the head of RTHK and Director of Broadcasting was accidentally spotted by a group of journalists in Causeway Bay along with an unidentified female. The journalists were actually waiting for singer Kenny Bee
Chung Chun-to (born 23 February 1953), also known by his stage name Kenny Bee, is a Hong Kong singer, musician and actor. He is best known as the singer of the group the Wynners, and as a solo artist who has been active in the Hong Kong ente ...
, who was in a nearby restaurant. On seeing the gathered journalists, Chu ducked behind his companion. Photos became the main page headlines in some of the major Hong Kong newspapers the following day. Chu, who was one year due to his official retirement from the government, subsequently decided to seek early retirement in the aftermath.
Nabela Qoser probation controversy
Nabela Qoser
Nabela Qoser (; born 6 July 1986) is a Hong Kong journalist and broadcaster. Until end of May 2021, she was Assistant Programme Officer at Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and co-hosted the RTHK ''This Week''. She is the first Cantonese-lang ...
, who became known to the public after she sharply and unremittingly questioned Hong Kong officials at press conferences following the 2019 Yuen Long attack, saw her three-year-long probation as a civil servant extended by 120 days following a management decision to reopen the investigations on her performance. She stood to be dismissed if she rejected the extension. Members of the RTHK Program Staff Union called the decision "unjustified suppression" and "baseless act derailing from established staff management regulations". Coconuts Media reported that pro-Beijing groups had vilified Qoser, calling her disrespectful and directing racial slurs at her. Qoser left the broadcaster at the end of May 2021.
Censorship under Patrick Li
Following the appointment of Patrick Li to the post of Director of Broadcasting on 1 March 2021, ten television episodes have been censored; YouTube content more than one-year-old have been removed from RTHK's channel. RTHK claimed that it was to align the YouTube channel with RTHK's policy of only making content available for one year since the date of broadcast on their own website. This move triggered a May 2021 online campaign among RTHK viewers to archive the channel on their own. In early August 2021, the broadcaster deleted its English-language Twitter archive, and announced on 5 August that it was disabling comments for all future tweets due to "resource constraints" that did not allow it to combat any misinformation contained in comments.
In March 2021, it was reported that three executives had left the company within two weeks, two of whom left because they did not want to sign an oath declaring loyalty to the government. In March, Li said that he would review all programmes before they could be broadcast.
Within a month since Li took over, at least nine episodes of various programmes, including two episodes of ''Hong Kong Connection'' – known for its investigative reporting, have been axed. Days before the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre, RTHK journalists were informed that no political story would be allowed to air. Programming cut back or cancelled at least 10 programmes – including an segment about the Tiananmen anniversary already aired the week before. RTHK management said three episodes of ''Hong Kong Connection'', ''Hong Kong Stories'', and ''LegCo Review'' "were not impartial, unbiased and accurate".[
On 29 June 2021, RTHK let go of veteran ]Allan Au Ka-lun
Allan may refer to:
People
* Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name
* Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker
* Allan (footballer, born 1989) ...
, ending 11 years of him hosting the Open Line Open View program.
On 5 July, Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
published a report on world leaders who had "cracked down massively on press freedoms". As one reason for including Chief Executive Carrie Lam
Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Secr ...
in the list, the report cited what it described as launching a "full-blown intimidation campaign" against RTHK, and said that Li had been "tasked with setting up an internal censorship system" at the broadcaster.RSF's 2021 "Press freedom predators" gallery
/ref>
Taiwan
Legislative Council member Luk Chung-hung
Michael Luk Chung-hung (; born 21 September 1978) is a Hong Kong politician. He is a member of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB). He is also member of th ...
in July 2021 asked Edward Yau, Commerce Secretary, if RTHK's use of the word "president" when referring to Tsai Ing-wen
Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...
breached the one-China principle
The term One China may refer to one of the following:
* The One China principle is the position held by the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) that there is only one sovereign state under the name China, with the PRC serving as the sol ...
. A week later, RTHK implemented new rules, which banned the use of words which would describe Taiwan (and the Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
) as an independent country in all television, radio, and online broadcasts.
See also
* '' Cho Man Kit v Broadcasting Authority''
* Government departments and agencies in Hong Kong
This is a list of government agencies of the Hong Kong Government.
The policies of the government are formulated decided by the bureaux led by secretaries and permanent secretaries are discussed in the Executive Council and implemented by the ...
* List of Hong Kong companies
Hong Kong is an autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China on the Pearl River Delta of East Asia. Hong Kong is one of the world's most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consiste ...
* Media in Hong Kong
Hong Kong's media consists of several different types of communications of mass media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, websites and other online platforms.
Overview
Hong Kong is home to many of Asia's biggest media entities ...
Citations
General references
*
External links
*
{{authority control
1928 establishments in Hong Kong
Cantonese-language radio stations
Chinese-language radio stations
Hong Kong government departments and agencies
Mass media companies established in 1928
Multilingual broadcasters
Publicly funded broadcasters
Radio stations established in 1928
Radio stations in Hong Kong
Television channels and stations established in 1976