Saturday 17 June 2006
Cost of crossing the line
Just a quick update on the controversial internet poll run on a radio show. The Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority has directed Commercial Radio to offer a public apology and pay a fine of HK$140,000. On its own, Commercial Radio has also introduced an additional layer of in-house monitoring of its programs.
The other side of the story is that many Hong Kong students (according to a report about 20,000) have come out in support of the two radio hosts in an online forum. So, for some the internet poll that asked listeners to vote for the most popular artist for indecent assault was OK. Also consider that sexual harassment – as Ms Atty Ching Tsui-wan, the Director of TeenAids, pointed out at a recent conference – in Hong Kong schools is becoming more frequent in recent years. Do you see a connection?
