Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK)
Founded in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong, RTHK is now the national public service broadcaster, delivering content across seven radio channels and five (formerly two) television channels in multiple languages—including Cantonese, English, and Putonghua.
Media assets
Television: TV 31, TV 32, TV33, TV34, TV35
Radio: Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4, Radio 5, Putonghua Channel, CNR/HK, CMG/RGB
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
RTHK operates as a government department under the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB), which oversees trade-related policy for the Hong Kong Government.
Its governance includes a Board of Advisors, comprising 14 members appointed by the Director of Broadcasting under the RTHK Charter, ratified in August 2010. This board serves in an advisory capacity, reviewing editorial principles, handling complaints, and advising on community engagement. The Director of Broadcasting sits on the board ex officio and is appointed by the Chief Executive (the head of the Hong Kong Government).
Angelina Kwan Yuen-yee, a veteran Hong Kong Administrative Officer with nearly three decades of government service, became Director of Broadcasting at RTHK in January 2025. Rising through the civil service since 1996, she has held senior roles across key bureaus, including security, welfare, housing, and the Chief Executive’s Office. Formerly Deputy Secretary for Labor and Welfare (Manpower), Kwan is recognized for her strong leadership and management skills.
Source of funding and budget
Fully funded by the government, RTHK’s financial trajectory over recent years is presented in the table below. Most recently, the 2025–26 fiscal year sees a projected budget of around HKD 1.55 billion, a sizable uplift, prompting legislative scrutiny and an imminent government review of RTHK’s operations, production, and staffing levels.
Editorial independence
For decades, RTHK enjoyed a hard-earned reputation for editorial autonomy, frequently lauded for its adherence to the principles enshrined in the RTHK Charter and reinforced by its detailed editorial policies. This tradition positioned the broadcaster as a trusted source of independent journalism in Hong Kong.
In recent years, however, this standing has come under sustained pressure, particularly since the introduction of the Beijing-imposed national security law. Over the past three years, government influence over editorial matters has become increasingly pronounced. The previous chair of the RTHK Advisory Board, replaced in August 2020m was reportedly a vocal proponent of steering coverage toward a more favourable portrayal of the national security law.
Concrete manifestations of this pressure emerged in mid-2020: in June, an RTHK program was terminated following complaints from the police force; two months later, the broadcaster removed an interview with a human rights activist wanted by the authorities.
Since then, the government has exercised its editorial control with striking consistency, resulting in a series of censorship incidents, often reinforced by self-censorship from within the newsroom. The appointment of Patrick Li, a career civil servant, as Director of Broadcasting in February 2021 marked a turning point. His leadership coincided with the resignation of numerous journalists, as noted by Hong Kong Watch in April 2022, and signalled a perceptible shift in the station’s editorial climate.
Many previously aired RTHK programmes have since been erased from all online platforms. Journalists are now required to follow new programming guidelines that, in practice, have curtailed the station’s editorial freedom. These rules are further underpinned by a punitive measure that holds staff personally liable for the financial consequences of producing content later subjected to censorship, a policy widely interpreted as a deterrent to covering sensitive issues.
Public perception has followed suit: a study released in June 2022 documented a decline in public trust, with RTHK’s trust rating falling to 53%, down from 59% in 2021.
According to the Charter, RTHK’s mission is to serve as an impartial platform for the exchange of views “without fear or favor.” The document further stipulates that editorial independence must be preserved, outlines specific editorial principles, and grants the Director of Broadcasting ultimate responsibility for safeguarding that independence and making final editorial judgments.
To monitor its performance, RTHK deploys several internal mechanisms, most notably the Television Appreciation Index Advisory Panel, comprising representatives from local broadcasters, industry associations, and academia, which conducts regular audience surveys. In addition, the Programming Advisory Panel, with 140 members drawn from a cross-section of society, reviews RTHK output and advocates on its behalf, frequently lobbying the government for increased funding to enable the broadcaster to fulfil its public service mandate.
Yet over the past three years, these safeguards have been systematically disregarded.
August 2025