Penalties coming for RTHK staff over June 4 stunt

RTHK staff behind the program Legco Review face disciplinary action and may even compensate the government after they included a June 4-related footage without getting management approval.

The staff are being investigated over Friday's episode after they bypassed an editorial panel that was set up in March and comprises director of broadcasting Patrick Li Pak-chuen and senior management.

The footage, inserted at the end of the program, shows members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China - organizer of the annual June 4 vigil - taking part in a run on May 16 in memory of the deceased.

In a Legislative Council panel on information technology and broadcasting meeting yesterday, Roundtable lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun asked Li if there would be any penalty for staff involved.

Li said: "If it involves civil servants, we will follow the mechanism governing civil servants, including the disciplinary route.

"If it involves inappropriate use of public money, we can invoke the Public Finance Ordinance. The people involved have to compensate the government."

RTHK is outsourcing production of the program while the investigation is ongoing.

Although the episode already aired, the station cut the footage from its online version.

Since Li took over the helm at RTHK in March, three programs have seen episodes withdrawn at the last minute, including Legco Review, Hong Kong Connection and Hong Kong Story. Those episodes were finished before the editorial panel was set up and were withdrawn due to their imbalanced coverage, Li said.

He denied that the panel dictated program content, saying there had been discussions with front line staff.

"Editorial independence does not mean production teams are free to make any editorial decisions," Li said. He added he has to bear responsibility over all editorial decisions.

It is also understood that management was unhappy about former Civic Party leader Audrey Eu Yuet-mee hosting a session on her own in last Friday's episode. Another guest, former Liberal Party chairman James Tien Pei-chun, co-hosted the discussion.

Tien quoted a report by the American Chamber of Commerce saying the business sector is most worried about the national security law and the pro-democracy camp's primaries case. His comment was cut from the final version of the program.

Hong Kong Journalists Association chairman Chris Yeung Kin-hing said RTHK's outsourcing of the program was "totally disproportionate . . . it is another case of self-censorship by management."

He added: "In every newsroom, [management] has to have a degree of trust in the judgment of the production team. If it has zero trust, it simply won't work and will cause never-ending problems."

The outsourced Legco Review episode will be aired on June 4.

amy.nip@singtaonewscorp.com