The crew of the LGBT radio program 'We are family' aired for 17 years by Hong Kong's state broadcaster RHTK, which has now decided to axe the show. (Photo: Facebook via RTHK)
State broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) has decided to axe the city’s lone LGBTQ radio show, its host said announcing the imminent closure.
In a Facebook post on July 22, Brian Leung, host of We Are Family said that after 17 years of continuous broadcasting since 2006, the show will end in August, Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported on July 24.
RTHK authorities said the move was part of “program rescheduling.”
“[I] say goodbye to every listener, thank you for your silent support over the years, and thank you… comrades who walked side by side and never left behind,” Leung said.
“At a time when Hong Kong saw drastic changes, many things are just a matter of time, and we had mentally prepared ourselves for what may come,” Leung added, HKFP reported.
In a July 5 episode of the show, Leung pointed out that the show’s broadcaster RTHK had in 2006 invited him to rejoin the company and host the show.
“I thought the program would only last three months. In the end, it has been airing for 17 years,” Leung told his listeners.
The award-winning show that was aired on Saturdays at midnight covered a broad range of LGBTQ issues including trans rights, the culture of drag queens, and the life and stories of the LGBTQ community, with special guests.
Many of its avid fans took to Facebook to voice their disappointment with the decision to discontinue the show.
An unnamed commenter said that “rights for the LGBT community had not been widely promoted” when the show began and thanks to it people from the listener's family “started to speak up.”
Eric Lowe, a Facebook user commented that the stoppage of the show was “something already expected” and thanked Leung and his team for the 17 years of their broadcast.
The move to axe the show came as no surprise since RTHK started to partner with China Media Group – the holding group of CCTV and China National Radio in August 2021.
The partnership aimed to air more programs to “nurture a stronger sense of patriotism” among viewers, HKFP reported.
However, the move was condemned by the city’s journalists’ association as changing the city’s public broadcaster into “a propaganda mouthpiece.”
Once known for its independent journalism, the RTHK started to change its policy after Beijing-imposed National Security Law was enacted in 2020. In May 2021, it purged its archives and axed news shows in July of that year. In September 2021, RTHK adopted new editorial guidelines.
In June 2020, shortly after the national security law was imposed, RTHK folded Hong Kong’s 31-year-old political satire show Headliner after accusations from Beijing loyalists of being overly sympathetic to the opposition and pro-democracy supporters.
The show had consistently sparked government ire with its skits and often rough lampooning of public figures.
The broadcaster came under state pressure after a skit criticized Hong Kong police for its handling of the 2019 pro-democracy protests right after violence broke out.
The pro-Beijing government proposed last week that programs about national education, national identity, and the “correct understanding” of the security law be exempt from an impartiality clause requiring “even-handedness” when opposing points of view are presented.
According to Hong Kong’s TV and Radio Program Code, licensees must “ensure due impartiality is preserved” in news and current affairs programs about public policy or issues of public importance in Hong Kong.
Due impartiality requires licensees to “deal even-handedly” when opposing points of view are presented.
Despite such laws, the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have increasingly targeted the LGBTQ community in recent years, with university societies and pride events discontinued.
The Beijing LGBT Center, one of China’s leading organizations offering support for the same-sex population, announced in May that it would halt its operations, HKFP reported.
Even though Hong Kong legalized same-sex relationships in 1991, there are currently no laws that can help protect them from discrimination in employment, the provision of goods and services, or hate speech.
Despite around 60 percent of Hong Kongers showing support for same-sex marriages in 2023, the practice remains a taboo and a punishable offense.
Despite repeated government appeals, Hong Kong courts have granted those who married – or who entered civil partnerships – abroad some recognition in terms of tax, spousal visas, and public housing.
Allegedly, the Hong Kong administration has funded groups with homophobic views and those which advocate “gay conversion” therapy and have consistently opposed the progress towards equality in court, HKFP reported.
