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Hong Kong chief executive CY Leung said on Tuesday that the government made no consideration in the course of reviewing free-to-air TV license application.
Leung told the media before attending an Executive Council meeting that the easiest way to do so was to accept all applications, which was by no means realistic under the current system. The process of examination involved detailed reports from experts, to go through the abilities of the applicants through various means. Four reports were made to the government over the past three years.
He reiterated that political reasons are of no account in the incident. Confidentiality of contents discussed in the Executive council must also be upheld, especially when commercial secrets are involved.
Staff members of HKTV camps outside the government headquarters in Admiralty, pressuring the government to table the grounds of rejection of a free-to-air TV license on Oct. 22, 2013.
Nonetheless he was silent to the HKTV boss Ricky Wong's claim that it was the government which took the initiative to invite him to bid for the license.
He said a litigation is not what he wants to see, but the government is ready for it, given that the procedure of issuing is strictly in line with legal requirements.
Meanwhile, 200 staff members from the HKTV Network rallied to the CE's office to submit a letter of petition, demanding the final decision maker of license issuing to give them thorough explanation on the grounds of rejection.
In the course of rally, the crowd of HKTV staffers hanged up the banners without chanting slogans. They insisted that their intention was just to express their dissatisfaction by peaceful means.
The representative of the trade union of the HKTV said Leung responded "Thanks for your efforts" as he received the letter. They will discuess what to do next, in order to make the government explain why the HKTV is not given the license.
The city's Commerce and Economic Development Bureau released a statement on Monday, asserting that the standard of issuing the free TV license is based on four criteria, namely the financial ability, investment, programming strategies and production ability. Under such considerations, the other two applicants, namely PCCW's Hong Kong Television Network Entertainment and Cable TV's Fantastic TV, outperform HKTV.
