３１年続いた香港の政治風刺番組、当局の圧力で打ち切り

【香港ＡＦＰ＝時事】香港で最長寿を誇る政治風刺番組が、民主派デモの混乱や国家安全法の導入で自由が制限される懸念の中、19日夜の放送で最終回を迎える。かねて親中派から民主派びいきだと批判されていた同番組は先ごろ、警察に批判的な放送内容をめぐって当局の調査と叱責を受けており、事実上の打ち切りだ。（写真は香港のスタジオで行われた公共放送RTHKの風刺番組「頭條新聞」最終回の収録風景）
　「頭條新聞」は、３１年にわたって公人を鋭く風刺した寸劇を堂々と放送し、香港政府をいら立たせてきた。
　だが、新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大が問題となり始めた２月、ごみ箱から飛び出してきた警官がマスクをめぐる寸劇を披露するエピソードを放送。これが当局に問題視され、番組打ち切りに追い込まれた。当時、香港の市民や医療関係者がマスクの入手に必死になる中、警察だけは十分にマスクを確保していることが地元メディアに報じられていた。
　市警察トップなどからの苦情申し立てを受け、通信・放送を規制監督する香港の政府機関「通信事務管理局」が調査を開始。先月、問題のエピソードは警察に対する「誹謗（ひぼう）中傷」だとする苦情の正当性を認める判断が下り、ＲＴＨＫが謝罪声明を発表した。
　ＲＴＨＫ番組スタッフ労働組合のグラディス・チウ会長は、「『頭條新聞』は風刺番組だ。視聴者によって反応は異なる。視聴者全員の受け止め方に対して責任を負うよう番組に要求するのは不当だ」と訴えている。
　１７日に行われた番組最終回の収録で、香港政府トップの林鄭月娥（キャリー・ラム）行政長官を風刺する女帝に扮（ふん）したベテラン俳優の呉志森さんは、「またね、と言いたいけれど、そんな大うそはつけない」とコメントした。
　英公共放送ＢＢＣをモデルにしたＲＴＨＫは、番組制作に当たっては政府から独立した編集権を公式に維持してきた。だが、香港政府は先月、「ＲＴＨＫの運営管理を見直す」特別委員会を設置したと発表している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/06/22-13:26）

Hong Kong's oldest political satire show will air its final episode Friday evening, against a backdrop of pro-democracy unrest and fears that an incoming anti-subversion law will help Beijing trammel local freedoms.
The swansong show by Headliner also comes after the government launched a review of RTHK, the public broadcaster that makes the programme, which has faced accusations from Beijing loyalists of being overly sympathetic to the opposition.
For the last 31 years the irreverent show has sparked government ire with its skits and often rough lampooning of public figures.
But a recent episode critical of police, following months of pro-democracy protests, has effectively ended the show, after sparking a rebuke from regulators.
Back in February, as the coronavirus first surfaced in Hong Kong, the programme featured a scene showing a police officer jumping out of a rubbish bin to deliver a skit about protective equipment.
At the time, local media had run reports that police had ample supplies of face masks, while residents and health care workers were scrabbling to get their hands on them.
The show sparked hundreds of complaints, including from the city's police chief, and a probe by the Communications Authority.
Last month the regulator agreed with the complaints, that the skit showed denigration and insult towards the police, contained inaccuracies and failed to show a broad range of views.
In a statement, RTHK apologised and said Headliner would soon air its last show while it reviewed satirical programming.
That sparked criticism from rights and employee groups, which said it had caved to pressure.
'Headliner' is a satire and different audiences will have different reactions, so it's unfair to ask the show to be responsible for everyone's feelings, Gladys Chiu, head of the RTHK Programme Staff Union, said after the decision.
- Caught in the crossfire -
On Wednesday, actors from the show were filming their final episode under hot studio lights.
I would like to say 'see you again' but how can I tell such a big lie, said Ng Chi-sum, a veteran of the show, who was dressed as a dynastic-era empress to mock Hong Kong's deeply unpopular pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam.
RTHK has increasingly found itself caught in the crossfire of Hong Kong's intense political polarisation.
Modelled on Britain's BBC, it is a public broadcaster which officially remains editorially independent of the government.
It has long been seen by the city's pro-Beijing camp as biased towards their pro-democracy opponents, a charge the broadcaster denies.
Last month, Lam's government announced it had appointed a task force to review operations and management of RTHK.
Critics fear the move is an attempt to mould RTHK into something that more closely resembles the heavily censored and relentlessly positive state broadcasters of authoritarian mainland China.