Another Media Outlet Bleeds

i-Cable staff confront management about the lay-offs

Hong Kong media outlets have been under attack not only by the government, as seen by the police raiding the offices of Apple Daily in August, and more recently RTHK's programming related to its investigation of what happened on July 21 last year in Yuen Long with a reporter arrested for her work on the story. 

The government-funded broadcaster also had to shut down its satirical TV show Headliner after criticism from the Communications Authority for "insulting" the police force.

i-Cable says the pandemic has led to staff cuts

And now i-Cable, Hong Kong's biggest pay TV operator that runs 24-hour news has been decimated in what appears to be a political move from within the company to practically shut down the newsroom.

This morning 40 editorial staff were given lay off notices effective immediately, the reason being the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the financial situation of the network. 

The move prompted the entire China desk team and at least half of the editorial department's middle management to resign immediately.

In a joint statement, the 11 reporters and five editors said not every department head had been consulted about or notified of the lay-offs, illustrating management's disregard for its staff.

"The handling [of the lay-offs] is disrespectful, and it has made people angry," they said. "The Hong Kong news team expresses regret over senior management destroying the i-Cable news department."

This latest move is another in a series that started in August when several senior management positions were reshuffled and less experienced editors and producers put in charge. 

Colleagues wave to sacked staff on their way out

The lay-offs affect not only reporters, but also anchors, video filming and editing staff. Three reporters who were sacked were from the News Lancet program, an investigative current affairs show. 

Even a veteran videographer who was let go while on the job filming at the Legislative Council, got news of his lay-off, packed up his belongings and left his camera rolling. 

The i-Cable staff knew the company's financial position was very tight, but at the same time there wasn't enough resources.

"We are short-staffed. If we fire one person, the operations will be difficult. We also feel that the management hasn't talked to our department head about this," assistant China news editor Linda Wong said. "The announcement was made suddenly, so our colleagues are disappointed and angry."

The Hong Kong Journalists Association urged i-Cable employers to realize the lay-offs would deeply affect morale and seriously affect the quality of news production. 

It also pointed out that the lay-offs of all the News Lancet's reporters -- whose work often dealt with politics and the police force -- could create the perception that the network was cutting back coverage of sensitive topics under the guise of cost-saving measures.

i-Cable owned by property magnate David Chiu

How will i-Cable continue to function after losing so many of its experienced staff? It's a 24-hour channel! Its not like a newspaper where it can cut the number of pages or stories...

In any event an interesting fact to add is that i-Cable is owned by property investor David Chiu Tat-cheong, also chairman of Far East Consortium, and a week ago was confirmed as infected with Covid-19 along with his wife.

Hearing More of the Chinese Anthem

You'll be hearing more of the Chinese national anthem soon

The mainlandizing of Hong Kong continues as the city's three main radio stations will start to play the Chinese national anthem from November 16 to comply with the law that was enacted five months ago.

Hong Kong's licensed radio broadcasters are required to promote March of the Volunteers and anyone who insults the anthem can be punished by law.

Public broadcaster RTHK and privately-owned Commercial Radio will play the anthem before their 8am newscasts daily from November 16. Metro Radio owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing, will also air March of the Volunteers at the same time slot, but the starting date has yet to be decided.

RTHK will air the anthem before the 8am news

"It's a necessary move to fulfill the legal requirement," said Amen Ng Man-yee, a spokeswoman for RTHK. She added playing the national anthem was in line with the charter of the public broadcaster, which requires its programs to deepen Hong Kong people's understanding of "one country, two systems", and cultivate a sense of citizenship and national identity.

Ng added the practice of playing the anthem will be implemented across all six of RTHK's channels, after months of negotiations with Home Affairs Bureau officials.

Interestingly it has taken this long for radio stations to play the anthem -- since 2004 television stations including TVB and Cable TV have played the national anthem before evening newscasts. 

Anyone who publicly and intentionally insults the song faces up to three years in jail and a maximum fine of HK$50,000 (US$6,450).

US has no specific penalties for non compliance

This is in sharp contrast the United States Code, that says any person present during the playing or singing of the American anthem "should" stand at attention with their right hand over their heart. There are no penalties for non compliance. 

Has the airing of the national anthem on television in the past 15 years increased Hongkongers' sense of nationalism or patriotism?

This attempt at soft power is misguided. At the same time there are fewer and fewer people watching TV and listening to the radio. But the upside for radio producers is that it's one minute and 30 seconds less of programing to worry about everyday...

Word of the Day: Lang Qing

At lunchtime today and colleague was telling me about slang words he had learned from the media and asked me if I knew them.

Not being able to read Chinese or watch Chinese TV I didn't know what he was talking about.

One of the words he taught me was lang4 qing1 浪青.

He explained that in China there are young people who have jobs where they don't have much to do all day. Some try to act important and look like they are "working", but really aren't busy, partly because they don't need the money, or they are doing these time-wasting jobs to get the benefits. Many state-owned enterprise jobs are like this, or government positions.

As a result, talent and brain power of young people are wasted, which is why they are called langqing.

Carrie Lam, Beijing Whisperer?

Lam tried to play down fears of greater control of Hong Kong by Beijing

During the 19th party congress, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the central government's "overall jurisdiction" over Hong Kong should be combined with the city's high degree of autonomy in an "organic way".

What does that mean?

For Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, it was a statement that Beijing was committed to upholding the "one country, two systems" principle that guarantees the city's semi-autonomy.

Xi is taking a greater interest in Hong Kong, good or bad

But how "semi" is "semi"?

Which is why Lam was keen on playing down perceptions that the central government was having greater control over the city.

"Sometimes it is because of some misunderstanding or oversensitive reaction," Lam said during an interview on RTHK television program Legco Review. "Sometimes someone says something out of their care for Hong Kong but it is seen as interfering in Hong Kong affairs. Sometimes the chief executive tries to explain the central government's policies but then I would be seen as currying favour with the central government.

"This kind of meaningless speculation and suspicion does no good to the successful implementation of the one country, two systems policy."

Is she saying we shouldn't read too closely into Xi's words?

Does she think we're newbies?

Every pronouncement from Beijing must be carefully scrutinized, though they can mean one thing one day, and something completely different another day. Or they can be twisted into whatever verbal pretzel the Chinese leaders want it to be.

For Lam to think we would be mollified by her comments, it only raises red flags.

In the meantime we're going to continue to see if we can gather more hints from Xi, while Lam's credibility as the Beijing whisperer is questioned.

Silk Road: The Massage Report

Just around the corner of the hotel on the left side is the massage place

On our Silk Road trip, we did quite a bit of walking everyday, and my mom and I (and some other tour members) were keen to take advantage of any massages we could get in the evenings.

We managed to get a few -- with some interesting stories in between.

In our first stop Lanzhou, we were unable to get one -- the place that other tour members had gone to, all their staff were busy by the time we arrived. The receptionist asked us to wait for 20 minutes or half an hour and since it was already late and we would have to wake up early the next day, we didn't want to wait another minute.

But then when we arrived in Wuwei, we discovered our hotel had a massage place on the third floor and my mom and I decided to check it out.

When we expressed interest in a massage, they took us down to the basement floor. The staff asked us if we wanted new slippers for 10 kuai or just clean ones for free. Excuse me? I had never heard of that before. We opted for the clean ones. They basically took our shoes hostage.

Then we had to decide on a 260 kuai massage for 80 minutes or 298 for 90 minutes. We pick the former and then we are led down to a changing room that has some lockers and the staff patiently wait outside while we change into some clothes they gave us.

After we're done, they take us back up to the third floor where we passed by a massive room filled with chairs (and smoke) and we entered a room for two people. There weren't any massage beds, but a raised platform for us to sit on.

We waited for a long time before two girls dressed in black short shorts and high heels come in. Obviously they are dressed for the opposite sex and were disappointed we're women.

While soaking our feet in very warm water, they massaged our heads, and then they moved onto the shoulders, neck and legs. She even used her feet to massage my inner thighs -- how creative.

One interesting move was me putting my feet on her knees and holding onto her hands and she was able to lift me up! Another was pulling me up from behind! Crazy.

At Jiayuguan, we spied some massage places near our hotel and checked one out after dinner. It was on the second floor of an old building that was quite dark, but since there were five of us we thought it would be OK. A Chinese woman followed us up because she was scared to go up on her own.

It turns out the place was run by a group of women and our first impression was seeing a half naked little boy running around. How professional.

They seated three of us in one room, two in another and the masseurs chatted among themselves while we stared at the TV.

At one point they started talking to us, asking us where we were from and even asking my mom's age. They were shocked to find out she was older than they thought because for them, someone who turns 60 is old.

The massage was done on a massage chair that could be flattened for us to lie on our stomachs, but it wasn't too comfortable. But for 108 kuai, what do you expect?

Our best massage was in a place in the same building as the Hilton Urumqi but around the corner, above or below a karaoke place. The massage place was very classy, the staff very polite and gave us the clean slippers for us to walk into a room big enough for five of us.

They gave us pink outfits to wear that looked like pyjamas and we could have slept there too it was quite comfortable. We were given tea and fruit, and our clothes stored in a Chinese cupboard while we sat in giant lounge chairs with mini duvets too.

Each of the young women had strong hands to give us really good massages working out our individual tight spots. They even gave us heated bean bags to put around our necks. Premium service. We were all in massage heaven.

Greg So: Trying to Leave on Good Terms -- Not

Commerce minister Greg So when he announced HKTV did not get a license

Outgoing Commerce and Economic Development minister Greg So Kam-leung has revealed that HKTV should have gotten a free-to-air license four years ago, and that he almost cried when when he had to announce the government's "collective decision" which resulted in 300 people in the broadcast industry out of work.

In 2013, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and his advisers rejected the application by outspoken businessman Ricky Wong Wai-kay for the broadcast license due to a "basket of factors" -- which are still unknown to this day.

So claims at the time he felt HKTV should have a TV license

"At the time I suggested three licenses should be granted because I believe in competition," So said on a RTHK program on Monday. Only i-Cable's Fantastic TV and PCCW's HK Television Entertainment Company were awarded licenses.

"I tried my best to convince the members at the Executive Council meeting, but I also had to respect the collective decision," he added. "I was trying not to cry when announcing the news [as some 300 people would lose their jobs]," he said.

Are we supposed to feel sympathy for So? Does he want the public to think he was the only rational person in the room but no one was listening or that he was out-voted?

When he was asked about his feelings over implementing a decision he did not believe in, So said: "It was part of my responsibilities... I had to explain to the public. This is the spirit of accountability system."

How about more like, I had to go along with it, otherwise I'd probably be sacked?

Why was So not questioned about the food truck debacle?

So also talked about Uber and its ongoing legalization problems in Hong Kong. He suggested that perhaps the government's regulations were perhaps not accommodating enough for this sharing economy trend.

"If its business model does not contradict the objectives behind our legislation, shouldn't we consider amending the law to allow better development for a sharing economy?" he asked.

Guess that hot potato will be passed onto chief executive-elect Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's administration to handle come July 1.

However, during the RTHK program, did no one challenge So on the abysmal failure of the food truck initiative? Last week the government finally admitted that perhaps some of the locations weren't good for customers. Hello?! We could have told you that!

He should have been raked over the coals for this half-baked idea that got worse and worse.

But perhaps this topic was one he insisted on refusing to talk about, though he was keen on getting the sympathy vote from the public.

Sorry Mr So -- can't have it both ways.

Mao's Loyal Army

Fans of the Great Helmsman make sure critics are silenced

It used to be that criticizing Mao Zedong would result in disaster for one's entire family, so the younger generation is shocked to find that criticizing him can still ruin careers.

Television producer Liu Yong was fired after he defended a critic of Mao online around December 26, the great leader's birthday.

Liu, a producer at Luohe Television in Henan province, was suspended for "wrongful speech that violates political discipline and morals", his employer posted on social media.

The statement didn't exactly explain what triggered the sacking, but Liu apologized on social media on Monday for "having hurt the feelings of the public".

A massive gold statue of Mao in Kaifeng, Henan province

Oh that wonderful phrase of "hurting the public's feelings" has been trotted out yet again.

Previously Liu had posted criticism of the Party and government, and on Sunday posted support for a professor who was forced to retire after criticizing Mao publicly on the eve of the late leader's birthday.

Deng Xiangchao, a communications professor at Shandong Jianzhu University, reposted a joke about Mao on December 25. Without naming Mao, Deng's post compared the late leader to an imperial ruler.

"Being an imperial ruler in China takes skill," the post read. "You should call hereditary rulers revolutionary comrades, and change the emperor's edict into a supreme instruction. But don't be honest about it."

The post angered Mao supporters, who held protests at the university last week. They held banners and yelled slogans such as "down with traitors".

Although some academics supported Deng on the grounds of freedom of expression, the professor, who was one year shy of retirement age, was forced to retire and stop teaching only a day after the protest, when the university accused him of posting "wrongful speech".

And now Liu is also a victim of this purge.

Let this be a fair warning to all!

The incident demonstrates that the country and its people still have very strong feelings about Mao. His followers are disappointed that rampant corruption and the widening wealth gaps were caused by market reforms and the intrusion of Western values.

But there are those who see Mao as a merciless and Machiavellian dictator who was indifferent to the loss of innocent lives, and who uprooted traditional culture and purged intellectuals and his colleagues.

And a posting on social media is enough to get you sacked!

The Demise of ATV

ATV's offices in Tai Po in the New Territories

It's finally happened -- ATV or Asia Television is finally shutting down tomorrow.

In the last few years the local TV station has had major financial problems and mainland businessmen have tried to prop it up with injections of a few million dollars here and there.

But this time it wasn't enough and a High Court judge ruled that Deloitte, the provisional liquidator, could go ahead and shut down the company.

ATV's archives include footage from the 1967 riots...

Deloitte is acting on behalf of major creditor Wong Ching, ATV's former boss, who sold his stake to mainland investor Si Bin; Si still owes HK$1.8 billion to Wong, and so he wants the assets sold off to get his money back.

Meanwhile staff weren't being paid their wages, and a few weeks ago some left because they hadn't been paid and can legally quit after not receiving their pay after a period of time.

While the government is assisting the employees in finding new jobs and getting any kind of compensation they can get, there is no word yet on what will happen to ATV's archives.

... the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984...

It was Hong Kong's first TV station and has 60 years' worth of history, including the 1967 riots, the arrest on corruption charges of police chief superintendent Peter Godber, the construction of the MTR and the negotiations of the Sino-British Joint Declaration for Hong Kong's return to China. There's also an exclusive scoop interview with Lee Lai-shan, the windsurfer who won Hong Kong's first-ever gold medal in the 1996 Olympics.

The government doesn't seem to care what happens to these archives which is dismaying to hear, and hopefully someone with the passion and resources can look after them.

They hold Hong Kong's history and we need to keep these things to remember the past as accurately as possible to hold people -- particularly those in office -- accountable.

... and Lee Lai-shan's jubilant Olympic gold win in 1996

While I don't miss ATV per se, it's the archives that I'm most concerned about. They represent 60 years' worth of work that should not be thrown out and forgotten.

Starting to Reveal the Cost of Propaganda

The Hong Kong government spent a lot of money on ads like these

We are closer to learning how much the Hong Kong government spent on advertising to promote its political reform package, but then failed miserably in mid June when it was voted down 28-8.

The figure of HK$5.08 million was finally revealed on Friday after legislative councillor Claudio Mo Man-ching was unable to get the information from the government and then complained to the Ombudsman.

"Apparently the government is trying to avoid a bigger public relations blunder before the Ombudsman publicly calls on them to disclose the information," Mo said, as she accused the administration of disrespecting Hong Kong people's 'right to know'."

Claudio Mo finally get some answers to how much was spent

With this latest figure, the media are estimating the entire exercise, that started back in 2013, may have cost taxpayers some HK$24.4 million. That's because the government said it spent HK$7.2 million in the 2013/2014 financial year, and had set aside another HK$12.1 million in the last financial year that ended in April.

However the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau refused to clarify the numbers for the media on Friday, saying it had "nothing to add".

So we're left to speculate the total cost.

But the bureau did explain to Mo how part of the HK$5.08 million was spent -- HK$3 million went to advertising on buses and the MTR, and HK$837,000 was used for electronic media commercials. From April to June, 2,295 minutes (38 hours and 15 minutes) were allocated for radio ads, and 2,619 minutes (43 hours and about 40 minutes) for television.

My, how precise these numbers are.

The government must come clean on the exactly total, and Hong Kong people must hold the administration accountable for spending so much of their taxpayer dollars. That money could easily have been spent on feeding the poor and elderly at least...

Boobs are Weapons in Hong Kong

Is this how the magistrate envisioned a woman assaulting an officer?

Can someone please explain the justice?

A Hong Kong woman was convicted of using her breast to assault a police officer during a protest march against parallel traders in Yuen Long on March 1. Today Ng Lai-ying, 30, was sentenced to three months and 15 days in jail.

Ng Lai-ying was convicted of assault with her breast...

In handing down the sentence, Deputy Magistrate Michael Chan Pik-kiu told Ng and a packed courtroom: "If I do not hand down a deterring sentence, the public might mistakenly think it is a trivial matter to assault police officers during protests."

But how do you assault someone with a breast?

She was the one who sustained a bloody nose from falling on the ground!

From the pictures one can see Ng is not heavy chested -- and the police officer said his right arm was assaulted by her mammary gland. It is unclear what injuries the officer sustained...

Meanwhile a retiring police superintendent was filmed on television using excessive force beating up an Occupy protestor with his baton.

... while Franklin Chu (in white) claimed he "patted" protesters

In an investigative hearing, Sha Tin divisional commander Franklin Chu King-wai, who is now retired, said that the baton was a mere "extension of [his] arm", with which he had "patted" passers-by to speed up pedestrian traffic.

Thankfully in this case the Independent Police Complaints Council is upholding its ruling that Chu committed assault. But for him to say he merely "patted" the protesters is absurd when there is video evidence.

One wonders what his idea of an assault is.

But this is rule of law in Hong Kong, where a woman can be convicted of assaulting a police officer with her breast, and a police superintendent claims he "patted" someone with his baton.

Just another week in the city...

China's Entertaining White Paper

China likes to think its human rights record is improving every year

Every year China comes out with its white paper on the human rights situation in the country. And of course it's painted in a positive light.

This time, the paper contains some 21,000 Chinese characters and explains how economic and social development has helped improve China's human rights, particularly in entertainment.

In the report's first section, titled, "Right to Development", it says the people's cultural rights were better protected thanks to the country's burgeoning television, cartoon and film production.

Dissident Liu Xiaobo continues to languish in prison

Uh huh.

It says in 2014, China produced 429 television series, which equals to 15,983 episodes, while cartoon programming amounted to 138,496 minutes. [The accuracy of the minutes is impressive].

The report adds growth on the big screen, with China making 618 feature films, 36 of which earned more than 100 million yuan each, racking up a total of 26.9 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) last year. This, the white paper says, is a 36 percent increase from 2013.

But how is the production of TV shows, movies and cartoons related to human rights, let alone the improvement of human rights in China?

Maya Wong, Hong Kong-based China researcher for Human Rights Watch wasn't impressed by this year's report.

Ai Weiwei was detained for a period before being released

"The white paper has departed so much from reality that it claims that the government has made 'great achievements' on human rights are absurd," she said, noting that in 2013, the State Council's white paper cited car ownership in defense of its human rights record. "The government could have counted the number of pandas as a sign of rights progress," she said.

Ouch.

So what are we to make of this year's white paper on China's human rights?

Sounds like a lot of creative writing, and whoever wrote it should be commended for trying to paint a warm fuzzy picture of the country's human rights situation when in fact anyone who speaks out against the state is put through a sham trial and then locked up, like Liu Xiaobo, journalist Gao Yu, lawyers Xu Zhiyong and Gao Zhisheng, academic Ilham Tohti, and for a period of time Ai Weiwei.

Journalist Gao Yu was recently jailed for seven years

The recent sinking of the cruise ship in the Yangtze has led to state media being instructed to use Xinhua-approved stories, and barring everyone else from the site. The families are demanding an open investigation with the number of deaths climbing past 430, but so far their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

Citing increased entertainment as a form of improved human rights seems such a bizarre connection, but then any way to frame China in a better light was the aim of the white paper.

What will they think of next?

The Battle for Viewers has Begun

A toast of victory for Ricky Wong (centre) with the launch of HKTV online

HKTV boss Ricky Wong Wai-kay got his comeuppance with the launch of his widely-anticipated online television station yesterday that had over 1 million downloads, far beyond his expectations.

"I thought I would only have 30,000 to 50,000 viewers this morning," he said.

Wong suffered a massive setback when the government rejected his application for a free-to-air license last year. It sparked massive protests at Civic Square in the government headquarters in Tamar.

He then tried to get a mobile TV license but told this could not go ahead for technical reasons and so he went online instead.

There were 330,000 downloads of HKTV's app via smart TV or set-top boxes, and 670,000 downloads through mobile devices. There were 250,000 viewers in the first seven hours of service.

Live streaming was available from 8pm and on-demand viewing of the crime thriller Borderline and political drama The Election were available from 6am.

Some people complained on social media that they could not access HKTV's website after live broadcasts began at 8pm, and Wong promised to try to fix the glitches as soon as possible.

Seems that Wong chose November 19 to launch HKTV's online service on the same day TVB celebrated its 47th anniversary.

Wong Cho-lam (left) proposes to his girlfriend on TV...

And in the battle for ratings, one of its stars, comedian Wong Cho-lam wore a red checkered suit and carrying a massive bouquet of red roses, proposed to his long-time girlfriend actress Leanne Li Ya-nan during the anniversary gala.

After he gave a heartening speech, Wong Cho-lam presented her a three-carat diamond ring, and she promptly took off the ring she was wearing and put on his before even accepting the proposal.

Oh yeah -- I do!

Talk about using the romantic strategy in the battle for ratings...

Apparently TVB chairman Norman Leung didn't know about Wong Cho-lam's plan to propose on TV, but was apparently moved to tears...

Up to the Same Tricks

TVB host Nat Chan Pak-cheung hanging out with Patrick Tse Yin

Ever since Ricky Wong Wai-kay lost the bid for a free-to-air TV license for HKTV, Hong Kong people began complaining louder about the low quality of programming on TVB, even though it makes the most money.

Its rival ATV is a distant second and so the public was hoping HKTV would give TVB a run for its money -- literally.

However it was not to be, though people were still keen to make TVB work harder.

This past week TVB broadcast its 46th anniversary charity show, and before the event, flamboyant host Nat Chan Pak-cheung pledged he would crawl home on his knees if the show only had a three-point rating.

By throwing down the gauntlet, Chan inspired a campaign to boycott the annual show and track down the households that were monitored for ratings. Chan later pledged he would donate HK$3 million to charity if the ratings hit 30 points.

In the end he just squeaked by at 31 points, with an average rating of 29 points of 1.856 million viewers and a 95 percent free-TV audience share for TVB.

Does this mean the majority of Hong Kong people love bad TV?

We see TVB is creating more budget programs like the one we saw tonight.

Magic is a perennial favourite, but the TV station didn't build a special set for the show. Instead the three hosts went on location to different places in Hong Kong to get magicians to do tricks in front of passersby.

The first place was Cheung Chau where they met with a magician from the outlying island. His first trick was pointing to a fishing boat in the distance with a red T-shirt hanging on it.

From the viewer's perspective his hand covered up the boat, but then in an instant the T-shirt was not on the boat but on his body!

Another was literally making sandcastles on the beach by lifting a cloth off the sand. How he did that I had no clue.

Then the trio of hosts went to Sham Shui Po where another magician lit up light bulb tubes like light sabres without any wires, while another in Mongkok made fish balls appear in a paper bowl with curry sauce. Or how about the magician putting his hands in a tank with just one small fish and then opening his hands to release a whole school of fish?

The only bizarre one was having a pretty TVB starlet change clothes literally in seconds. She walked into one changing room and in two to three seconds wore a new outfit. Then she walked towards the camera and was covered up by a clothes rack and presto! A new set of clothing.

Towards the end she wore a dark blue dress and for the finale a white dress on top and you could see the blue dress underneath...

The show format was very similar to Cris Angel and a Taiwanese magician Lu Chen who are in restaurants or hotel lobbies doing tricks in front of live audiences, but the TVB one is set in Hong Kong.

How hard is it to copy what's already been done?

Populist Underdog

We will have to wait and see what HKTV chairman Ricky Wong does next

Move over, Li Ka-shing, there's a new hero in town.

Hong Kongers have found a new underdog to support and it's Ricky Wong Wai-kay, 50, Hong Kong Television Network chairman whose application for a new free-to-air TV license was rejected by the government earlier this week.

Instead it was given to i-Cable's Fantastic Television and PCCW's HK Television Entertainment, both run by established tycoons, Peter Woo Kwong-ching and Richard Li Tzar-kai, son of Li Ka-shing respectively.

In 2009 Wong was encouraged to apply by a senior government official who he refuses to name, and was never told only two licenses would be handed out; nor was Wong's application considered the weakest of the three.

On Tuesday, about 15 minutes before the formal announcement, Wong received a call that his application was rejected without any proper explanation. He then held a press conference in which he voiced his anger, saying the whole decision-making process was opaque and is now seeking a possible judicial review.

After that he gave lay-off notices to 320 of 500 staff effective at the end of this month.

Many of the public were outraged by HKTV's rejected application, and they immediately setup a Facebook page supporting Wong and calling the government to issue HKTV a license. It was also a way for them to show their concern about the government's fairness in its decision. Some 400,000 people liked the page.

And then last night Wong showed up at an open-air forum at Chinese University -- his alma mater -- and was overwhelmed to see some 2,000 students and teachers eager to listen to him.

Reports described Wong as having tears in his eyes to see such strong support that it inspired him to continue to commit himself to creative industries.

Even though there is a protest march organized for this Sunday, Wong said he would not participate. "I can bring more benefits to people as a businessman," he said. "I am not a fighter for democracy."

He then displayed his dry sense of humour. When asked if he would buy ATV, one of the existing free-to-air stations, he replied his preference for buying flats. He said one had to worry about things not working and rats when buying a second-hand flat, which is why he preferred a clean, new one.

Wong also mocked the government, saying, "I don't understand how they do their public relations... they should provide a simple explanation for the rejection and start damage control."

Then a student asked him how he would deal with calls from "grandpa", a nickname for the central government, Wong replied that his grandfather had died many years ago.

When asked whether TVB, the other existing free-to-air station should worry about not having its license renewed, Wong sarcastically said, "TVB's news programs are so good. They shouldn't worry."

Some critics hypothesize Wong didn't get the license because the government feared he would not support it or the central government, while others worried about the erosion of the city's free market.

Nevertheless, Hong Kong people have propped up Wong as its new underdog to root for. To them he stands for justice, creativity and brashness. As long as he keeps fighting, the public will support him.

They are the ones who wanted better TV programs, but it seems the government would rather have more mindless entertainment on the airwaves.