RTHK Independence Called into Question Over Show Hosted by Hong Kong Leader

MAE SOT, THAILAND - Public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is bound by its charter to be editorially independent and immune from political influence.

But a new series, in which Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam interviews political leaders about reforms, is being criticized as testing the limits of that independence. Chief Executive Lam presented the first of the programs, "Get to Know the Election Committee Subsectors," on April 28. In the series, she discusses political reforms for Hong Kong that have been widely viewed as controversial. Journalists and experts have said it "falls into the realms" of a propaganda campaign.