Hong Kong’s public broadcaster will not be in charge of hosting the city’s annual July 1 flag raising ceremony and banquet due to its “recent subpar performance”, and will instead be replaced by the city’s largest television station, local media has reported.

Since the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997, Radio Television Hong Kong has been in charge of hosting the annual flag-raising ceremony at Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai and the subsequent banquet at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on July 1 for many years.

This year Television Broadcasts would be taking over instead, the government said.

The decision was made not to allow RTHK to organize the July 1 activities because of its “recent subpar performance,” according to a report by local media HK01, citing anonymous sources.

Hong Kong’s media watchdog, the Communications Authority, earlier ordered the suspension of Headliner, a controversial political satire programme by RTHK. The programme came to an end after it wrapped up the last episode of the season on June 19.

The watchdog said the public broadcaster “denigrated and insulted” the police after a February episode portrayed the force as trash and accused it of hoarding masks and other personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic.

RTHK spokesperson Amen Ng told Apple Daily that in previous years, they would receive an invitation from the government to host the July 1 ceremonies a month ahead of time, but that did not happen this year. She said they would continue to transmit signals to local television stations and the government’s Information Services Department as usual.

In response to media inquiries, the government spokesperson said the new arrangement was part of a project marking the 30th anniversary of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.

The government’s Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education and the Hong Kong Youth United Association are in charge of organizing a host of activities to mark the occasion, which includes the July 1 flag-raising ceremony and the banquet. TVB was contracted by the youth association to organize the event, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that the government would usually notify departments and organizers to attend preparatory meetings in early May, but the arrangements were not settled until early this month due to the pandemic, and the government notified RTHK on June 5 about the new arrangements.

A government source who requested anonymity told Apple Daily that TVB had set up a subsidiary production company that would be solely in charge of taking on government projects, such as the flag-raising ceremony.

“It would seem odd to suddenly let TVB take over, so it’s been presented as a package to celebrate the handover, and the company will be in charge of the flag-raising ceremony as well as producing other entertainment programs,” the source said.

The source added that more projects were in the pipeline for TVB.

Hongkongers participating in anti-government protests over the course of the past year have accused TVB, the city’s largest television station, of a pro-Beijing bias in its news coverage. An online boycott of TVB resulted in the station losing some advertising deals, while its journalists and cameramen reporting on the front line have also been harassed.

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