Public and Current Affairs Television Programme

RTHK set up its Television Section in 1970. Initially, part of its role was to produce education programmes in collaboration with the Education Department. In the meantime, Simon Lun Siu Ming took the helm to begin producing programmes on public and current affairs.

Various public and current affairs programmes are produced by the Public and Current Affairs Section (TV) of RTHK, including forums, talk shows, reality shows, documentaries and magazine programmes.

In 1972, Viewpoint, the first current affairs programme in both Chinese and English version was launched. Then the monthly programme in English, Spectrum, and the current affairs discussion programme, Needle Point, in Chinese were launched. Needle Point was hosted by Andrew Wong Wang Fat, who taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He interviewed officials and guests, hosted Q&A sessions with audiences, and invited experts as guests to offer analyses and discuss current affairs issues. Viewers watching the programme at home were allowed to join in the conversation by telephone, and thereby creating a channel to interact with the general public.

In 1973, Police Call (retitled Police Report in the 1990s) was launched, as a joint production between RTHK and the Hong Kong Police Force. Featuring information on how to combat crime, it had been broadcast for nearly half a century until August 2020, and has been popular especially for its re-enactments of actual cases.

In April 1980, the first broadcast of City Forum was hosted by Ng Ming Lam. It was originally designed as a debate programme for young people. High school students were invited to debate topical issues in society. Members of the audience were able to express their views by voting during the broadcast. Soon, the format was changed so that the host would put questions to invited guests on a topic, and the audience could join in the discussion as well. This format remained unchanged until the last broadcast in July 2021, and the programme has been broadcast continuously for more than 40 years. The show provides a live debate platform for participants to express their views and to speak freely.

Cheung Man Yee, a former Director of Broadcasting, recalled that she was inspired by Hyde Park’s Speakers’ Corner in London to set up an open space for people to freely express their opinions, and for this reason, she chose Victoria Park as the venue. At first, there was opposition from the police, who were worried that a gathering of a large group of people might cause chaos. Cheung and her team tried very hard to lobby the police to grant permission. Eventually, City Forum was launched. The programme allowed people to express different standpoints while respecting others’ opinions. It served to promote the value of freedom of speech in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Connection, which debuted in March 1978, is Hong Kong’s longest-running current affairs documentary series. It has spanned 46 years and aired over 2,000 episodes. This TV series explores social issues of public concern in-depth. It has gained audience support and won numerous awards. It is the longest-running TV programme of its kind, and serves as an important archive of Hong Kong’s contemporary history.