Hong Kong government accused of using appeal in HKTV case to delay action
The government faces criticism for using the appeal process to try to delay execution of the High Court's order that it reconsider its decision to reject HKTV's free-to-air licence in 2013.
The government faces criticism for using the appeal process to try to delay execution of the High Court's order that it reconsider its decision to reject HKTV's free-to-air licence in 2013.
Legislator and barrister Ronny Tong Ka-wah said the government was trying to halt the review of its decision for as long as possible using the appeal, which might take more than a year.
His comments came as Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung said the government was looking into seeking a stay of that order during the appeal.
The Executive Council on Tuesday announced it would appeal against the court's decision last month that its rejection of HKTV's licence was unlawful.
"I think the government is definitely trying to delay the review [of the free TV licence decision]," Tong said. "If it didn't apply for appeal, the Executive Council would have to start the review immediately."
Tong said there was "zero chance" the court could start processing the government's appeal application this year given its full schedule.
A stay of the court's decision would be bad news for mobile television broadcaster HKTV, whose founder Ricky Wong Wai-kay told shareholders yesterday that the company's online platform had not performed well since it started in February.
In a written reply to a series of questions from lawmaker Frederick Fung Kin-kee about the government's plans and contingencies regarding the court's decision, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung defended its actions as "prudent and responsible".
He said the government would "follow up with [HKTV] on the arrangements for processing the application, including whether the order of [the High Court] should stay in respect of this appeal case."
During HKTV's annual general meeting yesterday, Wong told shareholders sales at the company's online shopping business were "not very big" in past three months. But he said he remained optimistic about the business as it still had a positive income.
