RTHK urged to be professional after controversial show

Radio Television Hong Kong, the public broadcaster, was urged to handle all programs in a professional and vigilant manner, after a show it produces sparked public criticism.

When discharging its duties to provide public service broadcasting, RTHK should fully abide by its charter — the guidelines of its operation that clearly specifies its public purposes and mission, according to a statement from the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) on Thursday.

The charter stipulates that RTHK should promote understanding of the "one country, two systems" principle, and engender a sense of citizenship and national identity through programs that contribute to the understanding of the community and nation.

In an episode of the RTHK show The Pulse that aired on Saturday, an anchorwoman interviewed Bruce Aylward, a Canadian physician and senior adviser to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. During the video call, she asked Aylward if the WHO would reconsider Taiwan membership amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Membership in the WHO is limited to sovereign states, so Taiwan, part of China, is not entitled to apply.

The presentation in that episode breached the one-China policy and the purposes and mission of RTHK as a public service broadcaster, the CEDB statement said.

"It is common knowledge that the WHO membership is based on sovereign states. RTHK, as a government department and a public service broadcaster, should have proper understanding of the above without any deviation," the statement said.

The CEDB spokesperson also held that RTHK Editor-in-Chief Leung Ka-wing, who is also the director of broadcasting, should be held responsible.

In a statement on Sunday, the WHO responded that the question of Taiwan membership in the WHO is up to the organization's member states, not its staff. Yet the organization is working closely with all health authorities facing the coronavirus pandemic, including Taiwan health experts, the statement said.

Two episodes of another RTHK show, Headliner, also have drawn criticism recently. The episode that aired on Feb 14 implied that police officers had stockpiled medical masks and protective gear amid the COVID-19 outbreak. In another episode, on Feb 28, the host made fun of several deaths that the police had closed as cases with "no suspicious circumstances" from June through January. The show has received more than 3,300 complaints.

The police filed a letter of complaint against the two episodes with RTHK's Communications Authority and the director of broadcasting on March 3.