A total of 141 written submissions have been received in the public consultation exercise on the future mission of Radio Television Hong Kong as a public service broadcaster.

The Commerce & Economic Development Bureau today said the comments received were supportive of the proposals set out in the consultation paper.

These include the proposed public purposes of RTHK, the enhancement of its corporate governance, the proposed charter, the new services to be delivered by RTHK as well as the proposal for it to facilitate community participation in broadcasting.

The majority supported the proposed mode of service delivery, including the provision of new digital audio broadcasting and digital terrestrial television services by RTHK.

The bureau today also released the draft charter for comments by RTHK management and staff. The document will govern RTHK's operation in future and the bureau will finalise the charter with regard to the views received and arrange for it to be signed by the Chief Secretary, the Director of Broadcasting and the Chairman of the Broadcasting Authority.

Future work

In the months ahead, the bureau will work closely with RTHK on the planning for the provision of new services, the timetable for service rollout, as well as the manpower and financial resources involved.

It will seek the resources needed for RTHK to develop the new services through the established resource allocation mechanism. Approval will be sought from the Legislative Council as and when appropriate.

The Information Technology & Broadcasting Panel of the Legislative Council will be briefed on the consultation report and the preparation of the charter on April 12. Click here for the report and the draft charter.