Public Radio Battle in Hong Kong
China Challenges highlights parts from Christian Science Monitor's article on the state of China's only remaining public and truly independent radio station, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). Personally, I think they make the best podcasts and they better not stop producing them.
"The basic issue: Will RTHK be cut, restricted, or turned into a cheerleader for government policies? Or will it evolve into a subsidized but separate identity, similar to the BBC or Channel 4 in London?"
China Challenges: As many conservative Americans complain about the political bias the New York Times and the public broadcasting stations across the country, a similar debate is growing over the public funding of a Hong Kong radio station. The Christian Science Monitor reports:
A quiet battle over whether the only free and independent broadcaster on the land mass of China will remain so is intensifying. Over a 77-year span, Hong Kong public radio has dished out a blend of credible news and cultural programming in three languages, served as a link between expatriates and the Hong Kong street, and has gained increasing editorial autonomy and respect in China's most sophisticated city.
Yet that is exactly what bothers influential pro-Beijing forces who wish media to more fully trumpet government policies. Many of them see Radio Television Hong Kong, or "RTHK" as it is popularly known, as an irritant at best and a damaging critic at worst - allowing a broad range of opinion, including mild satire and programs that may challenge official proposals, all at taxpayer expense. Read More
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