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Archives: Dispatches

All Lingua Sinica Dispatches

Phoenix Television and Hong Kong Police Release Fourth Annual Documentary

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In December 2024, Phoenix Television (鳳凰衛視) and the Hong Kong Police Force released Hong Kong Police Story 2024 (香港警察故事2024), a 60-minute documentary co-produced by the two organizations and also broadcast on public broadcaster RTHK. The documentary profiles police officers and cadets across four chapters covering maritime, air, and land units, as well as recruitment, and highlights the force’s use of AI-assisted patrol robots and camera-equipped armored vehicles, according to Phoenix’s program description. Phoenix Television’s largest shareholder is Bauhinia Culture Holdings, a company wholly owned by China’s central government, with China Mobile Hong Kong holding a further stake. The documentary is part of an annual series the two organizations have co-produced since at least 2021, when an edition covered prosecutions under the Hong Kong National Security Law, including the cases of Tong Ying-kit and Jimmy Lai.

Hong Kong Police Distribute Video Series Via Local Broadcasters

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Since November 1, 2023, the Hong Kong Police Force’s Public Relations Branch has produced “Offbeat 360” (警聲360), a six-minute video program livestreamed weekly on Wednesday evenings via the force’s Facebook and YouTube accounts, according to a program description on the force’s website. The force distributes the program for rebroadcast to three local television outlets, including public broadcaster RTHK, i-CABLE’s HOY TV, and Phoenix Television (鳳凰衛視), as well as to more than 1,500 physical screens across the territory. Phoenix Television’s largest shareholder is Bauhinia Culture Holdings, a company wholly owned by China’s central government, with China Mobile Hong Kong holding a further stake. The program’s Chinese name references its Wednesday 6 p.m. broadcast slot, six-minute runtime, and stated aim of delivering crime and fraud prevention information and “telling Hong Kong police stories well” from “360 degrees,” according to the police description.

Hong Kong and RTHK Mark National Security Education Day With Student Drama

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On April 15, 2025, Hong Kong’s Committee for Safeguarding National Security (香港特別行政區維護國家安全委員會) and public broadcaster RTHK marked the opening ceremony of the territory’s tenth National Security Education Day, held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, with a short student drama, according to a government press release. The ceremony was jointly supported by the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government and the Office for Safeguarding National Security, and Xia Baolong (夏寶龍), director of the central government’s Hong Kong and Macao Work Office, delivered keynote remarks by video link. Zheng Yanxiong (鄭雁雄), the Liaison Office’s director, attended in person in his capacity as the committee’s National Security Adviser, a role the Hong Kong National Security Law requires be designated by China’s central government, alongside Chief Executive John Lee (李家超). The drama, titled “Students’ Hearts, Motherland’s Feelings” (學子心祖國情), later aired on RTHK channel 31, according to a program archive on its website.

TVB and Hong Kong Police Launch Recurring Series on Police Work

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Beginning November 20, 2022, Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) began co-producing a recurring segment series with the Hong Kong Police Force’s Public Relations Branch, airing weekly on TVB’s Jade Channel and other TVB channels, according to the Sing Tao Daily. The series, titled “Police Voice, 120 Seconds” (警聲百二秒), depicts police duties through dramatized “real-life scenarios” meant to introduce the force’s internal workings and break down public stereotypes, according to a program description on the Hong Kong Police Force’s website. Episodes have covered topics including intelligence gathering, counter-infiltration, and counter-terrorism work, presenting the Hong Kong National Security Law as a matter concerning the wellbeing of every resident. TVB’s largest shareholder, Young Lion Holdings, holds a stake tied to mainland Chinese investment firm China Media Capital, whose founder Li Ruigang (黎瑞剛) serves as a TVB board director.

HOY TV

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HOY TV (開電視), operated by i-CABLE HOY Limited under parent company i-Cable Communications Limited, is a free-to-air Cantonese-language television channel in Hong Kong. The channel began broadcasting on May 14, 2017, under the name Fantastic TV Chinese Channel, later renamed Hong Kong Open TV and then HOY TV in 2022. New World Development chairman Henry Cheng Kar-shun took control of i-Cable Communications in 2021, paying HK$316.4 million to acquire a majority stake in the company’s controlling shareholder, Forever Top (Asia) Limited. In 2023, i-Cable surrendered its pay-television license and shifted its business to free-to-air broadcasting, around the same period Hong Kong’s Communications Authority introduced new licensing rules requiring HOY TV and other free-to-air broadcasters to air at least 30 minutes of national education and national security law content weekly. HOY TV has also participated in the Hong Kong Police Force’s national security messaging efforts as one of three broadcasters that rebroadcast the force’s “Offbeat 360” video series.

Young Lion Holdings Limited

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Young Lion Holdings Limited is a British Virgin Islands-incorporated holding company that has served as Television Broadcasts Limited’s (TVB) largest shareholder since January 2011, when it acquired a 26 percent stake in TVB from Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Limited for an estimated HK$5.2 billion, according to the South China Morning Post. As of TVB’s 2024 Annual Report, the stake, held through subsidiary Shaw Brothers Limited, stood at 25 percent and was subject to overlapping, jointly held interests between Kenneth Hsu Kin, who controlled the stake through Ever Port Limited, and PRC media tycoon Li Ruigang (黎瑞剛), founder of China Media Capital (華人文化), or CMC, who held an indirect interest through a chain of entities including CMC M&E Acquisition Co. Ltd. As of May 2025, TVB’s Executive Chairman Thomas Hui (許濤) agreed to acquire Hsu’s shares in Young Lion Holdings, after which Hsu resigned as a TVB non-executive director, according to the South China Morning Post.

Phoenix Television

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Phoenix Television (鳳凰衛視), operated by Phoenix Media Investment (Holdings) Limited, is a Hong Kong-based Chinese-language broadcaster established on March 31, 1996, and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK: 2008). The company’s largest shareholder is Bauhinia Culture Holdings, a company wholly owned by China’s central government, which acquired a 21 percent stake from founder Liu Changle in April 2021. China Mobile Hong Kong, a subsidiary of state-owned China Mobile, separately holds approximately 19.7 percent of Phoenix’s shares. Taiwanese regulators concluded in 2022 that this ownership structure gave Beijing direct control over the network, and Phoenix subsequently ceased its Taiwan operations after failing to meet a remediation deadline set by Taiwanese authorities. Phoenix operates six satellite channels distributed across mainland China, Hong Kong, and overseas Chinese communities, and has co-produced Hong Kong national security-themed programming with the Hong Kong Police Force.

Hong Kong Police Force

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The Hong Kong Police Force (香港警務處), formed on May 1, 1844, under the territory’s first Police Ordinance, is Hong Kong’s primary law enforcement agency, operating under the government’s Security Bureau. Following the imposition of the Hong Kong National Security Law by China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee in 2020, the force established a National Security Department on July 1, 2020, headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police for National Security. The department investigates offenses under the national security law and conducts related intelligence work, and its head sits on the government’s Committee for Safeguarding National Security, which includes a National Security Adviser designated by China’s central government. The force’s Public Relations Branch has co-produced national security-themed television programming with broadcasters including Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) and Phoenix Television, forming part of a broader effort to promote public confidence in the police and awareness of national security law following the 2019 protests.

Television Broadcasts Limited

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Television Broadcasts Limited (電視廣播有限公司), known as TVB, was first established on November 19, 1967, as Hong Kong’s first wireless commercial television station, and today produces terrestrial broadcasting, drama, and digital media content distributed across mainland China and more than 40 other countries. The company is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, trading under stock code 00511. TVB’s largest shareholder, Young Lion Holdings Limited, holds a 25 percent stake in the company through its subsidiary Shaw Brothers Limited, a stake jointly held under an agreement between Kenneth Hsu Kin and Li Ruigang (黎瑞剛), founder of mainland Chinese investment firm China Media Capital, according to TVB’s 2024 Annual Report. In May 2025, TVB’s Executive Chairman Thomas Hui To agreed to acquire Hsu’s shares in Young Lion Holdings, and Hsu resigned as a non-executive director, according to the South China Morning Post. Li remains a non-executive director on TVB’s board. TVB’s mainland China operations, which co-produce dramas and distribute programming to mainland broadcasters and streaming platforms, accounted for 26 percent of the company’s total revenue in 2024, according to the annual report for that year.