Suspicion of political revenge grows following the resignation of a veteran Hong Kong public broadcaster and the demotion of the leader of a civil servant union.

Kirindi Chan, acting deputy director of Radio Television Hong Kong, cited health reasons for her resignation after working for the broadcaster for over 30 years. The 58-year-old will leave the job in September. Meanwhile, Michael Ngan, chair of the Union for New Servants, confirmed that he had been demoted from a more senior role he had taken up on an acting basis, along with seven other employees in the Labour Department.

RTHK has been embroiled in a series of controversies in recent months. Its satirical show “Headliner” was suspended after the Communications Authority found a February episode "denigrating and insulting" the police.

Recently, the broadcaster decided to produce a 20-episode program on the upcoming national security law after advisers said the broadcaster should “embrace” the legislation even though the bill had caused grave concerns over its effects on freedom of speech in the city. RTHK has also been frequently criticised by pro-Beijing politicians for being unpatriotic.

RTHK’s head of corporate communications and standards, Amen Ng, denied political motivations behind Chan’s resignation. She said RTHK chief Leung Ka-wing was sad to see Chan go and had tried to convince her to stay.

The news of Chan’s departure coincided with the confirmation that the head of the pro-democracy Union for New Civil Servants, Michael Ngan, had been demoted from his acting position at the Labour Department. Ngan was one of the outspoken civil servants who had joined a rally against the extradition bill last year. The now-withdrawn bill sparked mass demonstrations and kicked off a yearlong anti-government movement.

Ngan said in a social media post that he was only informed of the decision at abrupt notice, adding that it was rare for officers to be told of the discontinuation of their acting positions toward the end of their appointments. He said he was sad and could not rule out the possibility that the decision was politically motivated.

Pro-democracy lawmakers urged the government to come clean about the arrangement. Wu Chi-wai, chair of the Democratic Party, said Ngan’s demotion seemed designed to punish those who had participated in the early anti-extradition bill protests. Leader of the Civic Party, Alvin Yeung, said the government risked destroying the civil service by not adhering to its own promotion mechanism.

In response to a media enquiry, the Labour Department said it would not comment on individual cases and that an acting position did not imply a promotion.

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