Hong Kong Broadcasters Yield to Government-Organized Election Forums

Hong Kong's three main television networks are said to have abandoned their intentions to organize election debates for the"Only Pa...

Hong Kong's three main television networks are said to have abandoned their intentions to organize election debates for the"Only Patriots" legislative contest in December, making room for those organized by the government.

Three television networks — TVB, i-Cable, and Now TV — typically host election debates before each Legislative Council (LegCo) election, held every four years, giving candidates the opportunity to publicly discuss their political agendas.

Nevertheless, Ming Pao stated on Wednesday that the broadcasters chose to cancel their programs for the December 7 legislative election. The government launched its own 39 election forums on Tuesday.

The newspaper’s political column citedunidentified sources stated that "novices" in the LegCo election, meaning candidates who are running for the first time, who make up roughly half of the 161 contenders this year, would only take part in government-arranged discussions.

A group of individuals new to the Legislative Council election process found participating in election forums to be very stressful," said the Chinese-language newspaper. "Additionally, with less than a month until the voting, they chose to participate only in government-organized forums.

The newspaper also mentioned that certain candidates prefer to take to the streets to promote their campaigns and ideas rather than appear on television for debates.

On Wednesday, the political column of Sing Tao Daily reported, referencing unnamed sources, that LegCo candidates would participate exclusively in government-organized election debates to "prevent misstatements," rather than in those arranged by the media.

By Wednesday, no election debates organized by media outlets had been announced, whereas the government had already held four such events this week.

In state-organized discussions, contenders do not participate in intense arguments – a characteristic seen in media-hosted events. Rather, they alternate in presenting their policies and mostly avoid criticizing other participants.

HKFP has contacted TVB, i-Cable, and Now for their response.

The government's "Patriots Work Together for Effective Governance" meetings will address all 39 areas of the LegCo election – covering the Election Committee, 28 functional constituencies, and 10 geographical constituencies.

Only members of the public are allowed to cast their votes in geographical constituencies, whereas the Election Committee and functional constituencies are elections confined to a limited group.

The official election forums are a component of the government's initiative to boost voter participation on December 7, coming after Hong Kong experienced an unprecedentedly low voter turnout in the 2021 elections. This was the first election following a Beijing-imposed electoral reform aimed at ensuring that only "patriots" could stand for office.

Erick Tsang, the secretary responsible for constitutional and mainland affairs,saidon Tuesday, it was stated that the initial two election debates were "satisfactory" and increased public understanding about LegCo candidates.

When questioned by a journalist, hesaidhe "did not hear" that certain candidates were instructed not to take part in media-hosted election debates.

In March 2021, Beijing enacted a law tomake sure "patriots" take control of Hong Kong. The move reduced democratic representationin the legislative body, enhanced oversight of elections and established a pro-Beijing screening committee to choose candidates. Officials state that therestructure guarantees the city's stability and growth. However, the changes also triggeredinternational condemnation, as much of the traditional resistance persistsbehind bars, in self-exile or has quit politics.