【SHARED】Tsang Chi-ho | The political red line above my head; “Hongkongers are my only boss”
Tsang Chi-ho has been the host and writer of RTHK's satirical comedy show Headliner for fifteen years. The Headliner is Hong Kong's most popular current affairs programme, and it was widely-screened during the heydays of the pro-democracy movement. Although it received 30,000 likes, it also received 6,000 complaints from left-winged newspapers, government ministers, and the police. When even the RTHK Board of Advisors took a stand and called for replacement of the show's hosts, what could they do?
“Between the two famous phrases ‘Literary works are written for the times while songs and poems are written to reflect matters’ and ‘The hungry sing of their longing for food while labourers sing of their suffering,’ I think you have your explanation already. Art is supposed to reflect life, and when life is nothing but politics, a pandemic, and even violence, wouldn’t these elements naturally work their way into your creations?”
Journalist: HK Feature
Photographer: HK Feature
RTHK's show Headliner has surpassed its 30th anniversary, spanned the British colonization period, witnessed the 1997 Handover as well as various social issues. The show has expanded from the television set to the internet with each episode attracting five to six hundred thousand views and a weekly click-through rate of at least two million.
As a satirical current affairs show, the Headliner, amidst the social movement and the virus outbreak, has surged in popularity again. Recently, while it has received 30,000 likes, it also received 6,000 complaints. While the satirical programme was heavily backed by citizens, it was criticised by government officials and the police, to the extent that even the chairman of the RTHK Board of Advisors took a stand and called for replacing the show's hosts, Ng Chi Sum and Tsang Chi-ho.
Tsang Chi-ho was Headliner's host for fifteen years as well as the show's creator. Tsang Chi-ho expressed that the Headliner is currently facing its most significant and apparent political crisis.
"Before that, there were only secretive whispers telling us this and that; no one stood out and told us what not to do. Now, there is that someone, and that someone is Chairman Chan of the RTHK Board of Advisors. He actually came out and publicly told us to stop. It's a stark departure from what we’ve experienced before."
During the anti-extradition bill protests last year, Headliner had satirised the government and the police on many occasions. During February and March this year, the police penned letters to RTHK twice, criticising Headliner for besmirching the force and misleading the public.
"This political storm isn't temporary. You criticise the One-China Principle on the one hand and the police on the other; of course, that crosses the line from the government's eyes."
Since the police have complained to RTHK, Tsang Chi-ho has repeatedly received interview requests from the media. He describes that "every interview is like putting his affairs in order" where he is asked about his future plans as well as to look back on moments in Headliner over the years.
Tsang Chi-ho sighed: "After many interviews, I have a vague kind of feeling that this will be the end. That's why everyone is taking the opportunity to record this."
“Hongkongers are our only boss”
Despite the political upheaval, we have to keep swimming. Tsang Chi-ho continued to script Headliner shows. He fact-checked the show's information more meticulously, and filmed during the week to make it in time to premier Friday. He explained, quite frankly, that RTHK has been criticised from all sides and has nowhere left to retreat. With political pressure stronger than before, "retreating is a sign of admitting to mistakes. They'll say you've violated your charter and the One China Principle. Things won't be calm and peaceful if you admit to mistakes. If you acknowledge your mistakes, will that reporter be fired? Later, you'll have to admit that this red line is above your head."
"To us, only Hongkongers are our boss." He said that RTHK's management did not hold employees accountable for what happened, and that he's not afraid of any political censorship either. If they do censor, "that wouldn't be Headliner. It wouldn't be RTHK either."
Creativity can’t operate in a parallel universe
Tsang Chi-ho graduated from Hong Kong Baptist University’s School of Communication in 2000. After he graduated, he served as a reporter for several years before joining RTHK. He became the host of RTHK's leisure programme Crazy and Happy as well as the satirical programme Headliner. He's also a newspaper columnist and in recent years has also started a YouTube channel with Ng Chi Sum to discuss politics. From within the eye of the political storm, Tsang Chi-ho continued creating and discussing politics through writing, scriptwriting, and broadcasting.
“Between the two famous phrases ‘Literary works are written for the times while songs and poems are written to reflect matters’ and ‘The hungry sing of their longing for food while labourers sing of their suffering,’ I think you have your explanation already. Art is supposed to reflect life, and when life is nothing but politics, a pandemic, and even violence, wouldn’t these elements naturally work their way into your creations?”
Extracting bits of life to ridicule and self deprecation are what Headliner strives to do. “We don't directly criticise what they've done wrong nor their irresponsibility. That's dull. We dramatise it, use puns and add some humour into it to make it light-hearted drama yet current and resonate with the audience.”
"I don't see the need to stop discussing current affairs and set boundaries for yourself. If while working in arts and literature, we can only stick with clichés, then I don’t need this." said Tsang Chi-ho emphatically.
The light at the end of the tunnel
Tsang Chi-ho believes that perseverance is what we should uphold. "Don't surrender before your sentence. Take our programme for example: if they haven't stopped us, shut off our cameras, I won’t surrender. I won’t say that I’m not going into work tomorrow. I won’t say that we won’t be talking about these topics today." Although surrendering won't improve the status quo, being unwilling to surrender is a way of resisting. The more we delay, the more it will cost them.
He believes that so long as we don't surrender, someday they will retreat. "You might say that's wishful thinking, but that day will come, no?" Tsang Chi-ho says that even if we lose, we will lose gracefully.
After the interview, Tsang Chi-ho walked with the reporter to the pedestrian tunnel connecting City University of Hong Kong and Festival Walk.
Before his departure, he coolly said, "That's good. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel."
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Original article: 外遊卡滯銷檔主「逆風」賣本地卡求存 - 誌HK Feature
(This story is supported by HK Feature and modified.)