Update | TV licence row heads for court showdown as CY Leung refuses to budge
Rejected free-to-air applicant Ricky Wong vows to apply for judicial review as CY Leung insists government procedure met legal requirements
The government and disappointed television licence applicant Ricky Wong Wai-kay are set for a court showdown after he and Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying crossed swords yesterday.
Leung said the government had sought legal advice, including that of a Queen's Counsel, to ensure the procedure for granting the free-to-air licences complied with legal requirements.
But Wong, head of Hong Kong Television Network (HKTV), said he would apply for a judicial review in two or three weeks in an effort to prove otherwise. He said his legal advice was that he had a good chance of winning.
Before attending an Executive Council meeting yesterday, Leung received a letter of protest from about 200 HKTV staff over its exclusion in favour of iCable's Fantastic TV and PCCW's Hong Kong Television Entertainment Company.
In a subsequent press briefing, he insisted the government favoured a gradual approach in issuing licences and "rejecting no one" was not part of its policy.
"We alerted the three applicants in advance about our inclination. It was not when Exco made the decision that we started adopting the principle," he said.
While some executive councillors have sought to distance themselves from the controversy, Leung said the decision to reject HKTV was a collective one.
