Not satisfied with making the public-service broadcaster scrap its unconstitutional Person of the Year referendum, the Liaison Office might set up its own RTHK. Beijing, it says here, plans to establish a state-owned Hong Kong-based ‘cultural’ conglomerate to do publishing, movies and entertainment. Story at Chinese-language Sing Tao says it will also cover news and have English content.
It will, needless to say, produce utter bilge no-one wants to watch. Unless, of course, they ban all alternative channels and/or pay people to tune in and/or force them to enjoy it at gunpoint. None of which we can rule out. The best we can say is that the output might be entertaining – though not in the way the producers think.
A long but brilliant (and meticulously balanced) letter from economist Dan Wang…
US elites have abandoned the idea that China would liberalize nicely. They should put another idea to bed: that this authoritarian system, riddled with weaknesses, is on the brink of collapse. The country’s strengths are real and improving while the government becomes more nasty towards its critics and the rest of the world.
Some more culture…
A New Year singalong from exiles on the NatSec Regime’s wanted list.
A HK Police-supporting ‘blue ribbon’ as street art.
And the interior design of an uncannily real-looking Hong Kong-themed hotpot restaurant in Sydney.
Why does the sub-Standard refer to Backchat’s ‘Person of the Year’ as an election? Its a bit of fun, a popular vote, for crying out loud. Hugh seemed very boxed in having to read out listeners’ questions this morning.
“Beijing, it says here, plans to establish a state-owned Hong Kong-based ‘cultural’ conglomerate to do publishing, movies and entertainment… It will, needless to say, produce utter bilge no-one wants to watch.”
We already have that in the form of many a Mainland China-Hong Kong co-production. Guess those films aren’t “patriotic” enough… even while having having ruined Hong Kong cinema for many. (Thank goodness for the indie and thoroughly local likes of films like “Still Human”, “Distinction”, “Memories to Choke On, Drinks to Wash Them Down”, criminally under-seen “A Home with a View”, etc. But it’s also sad to know that the likes of “Distinction”‘s director, Jevons Au, have now left Hong Kong.)