The Pulse (TV programme)

Last updated
The Pulse
The Pulse RTHK.png
Title card in 2020.
Genre
Presented by
  • Stephen Vines
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerDiana Wan
Running time21–22 minutes
Production company RTHK
Original release
Network RTHK TV 31
Release7 January 2005 (2005-01-07) –
2 July 2021 (2021-07-02)

The Pulse was a Hong Kong weekly current affairs television program produced by RTHK that airs on RTHK TV 31, which provided in-depth reports and interviews on current issues in Hong Kong, mainland China and the rest of the world. Created by its first executive producer Gary Pollard, the series broadcast its first episode on January 7, 2005. The programme was hosted by Stephen Vines, a British writer and journalist. [1]

Contents

The show originally aired on both TVB Pearl and RTHK TV 31, it ceased its broadcast on TVB in 2017 and on RTHK in 2021. [2] [3]

Incidents

Bruce Aylward interview

On 28 March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bruce Aylward, senior advisor to the Director General of World Health Organization (WHO), was interviewed in The Pulse by Yvonne Tong. [4] In the video interview, Tong asked Aylward about Taiwan's status in the WHO and inquired as to whether it might be readmitted to the WHO after being denied entry by Beijing. However, Aylward claimed not to hear the question, and then terminated the video call. [4] [5]

Tong then called once again to pose questions about Taiwan and its handling of COVID-19. Aylward responded by following China's official position that Taiwan is indeed part of China, a politically charged claim. “Well, we’ve already talked about China. And when you look across all the different areas of China, they’ve actually all done quite a good job,” he responded. [6] He then quickly ended the interview. [5]

The interview went viral across social media and raised questions about the WHO's deference to China in shutting out Taiwanese representation. As RTHK is a public broadcaster funded by the Hong Kong government, the secretary for commerce and economic development Edward Yau reprimanded the station for breaching its charter which includes "promoting understanding of the one country, two systems model". Yau and pro-government figures like Junius Ho opined that the interview violated the One China principle. [7] RTHK announced it stood by the original interview as aired, dismissed claims that it violated the charter as it did not mention Taiwan as a country, and pushed back against government interference in the station's editorial autonomy. [8] An RTHK advisory panel member labeled the accusations as “nonsense”, adding that she does not "understand why when a reporter is asking something relating to health, she or he has to remember there is ‘One Country, Two Systems’ … in line with the government or China”. [7] A WHO representative sent a e-mail statement to Hong Kong Free Press accusing the show's crew of misrepresentation and deliberate manipulation of footage; but RTHK's Head of Corporate Communications and Standards Amen Ng however rebukes this stating that the broadcaster “strenuously reject any allegations of ‘distortion and misrepresentation.'” [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RTHK</span> Hong Kongs public broadcaster

Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Hong Kong Government that directly supported by annual government funding, RTHK's educational, entertainment, and public affairs programmes are broadcast on its eight radio channels and six television channels, as well as commercial television channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronny Tong</span> Hong Kong politician

Ronny Tong Ka-wah, SC KC is a Hong Kong Senior Counsel and politician. He is a current non-official member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong. He co-founded the Civic Party and was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, representing the New Territories East constituency from 2004 until he quit the party and resigned from the legislature on 22 June 2015, following the historic vote on Hong Kong electoral reform a few days earlier, having switched his political alignment from pro-democracy to pro-Beijing Hong Kong political group Path of Democracy, of which he is currently the convener.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education Bureau</span> Policy bureau of the Hong Kong Government

The Education Bureau (EDB) is a policy bureau responsible for formulating and implementing education policies in Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong Bar Association</span> Regulatory body for barristers in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) is the professional regulatory body for barristers in Hong Kong. The Law Society of Hong Kong is the equivalent association for solicitors in Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration Department (Hong Kong)</span> Hong Kong government department for immigration affairs

The Immigration Department of the Government of Hong Kong is responsible for immigration control of Hong Kong. After the People's Republic of China assumed sovereignty of the territory in July 1997, Hong Kong's immigration system remained largely unchanged from its British predecessor model. Residents from mainland China do not have the right of abode in Hong Kong, nor can they enter the territory freely, both before and after 1997. There are different regulations that apply to residents of Macau, another Special Administrative Region of China. In addition, visa-free entry acceptance regulations into Hong Kong for passport holders of some 170 countries remain unchanged before and after 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadcast Drive</span> Street in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

Broadcast Drive is a road in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. The road is notable as it is only 1 km long but having played host to all five broadcasting outlets in Hong Kong at one point in the 1970s, and the hill on which the road is located was known in Chinese as Ng Toi Shan during that time. The five broadcasters were:

<i>Headliner</i> (TV programme) Hong Kong news satire television program

Headliner was a Hong Kong television program produced by RTHK that airs on RTHK TV 31 which satires current affairs in Hong Kong, mainland China and the rest of the world. It first aired on 4 April 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Information Services Department</span> Hong Kong government department

The Information Services Department (ISD) is the Hong Kong Government's public relations office, publisher, advertiser, and news agency, serving as the link between the government and the media. It was also commonly called Government Information Services (GIS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Yau</span>

Edward Yau Tang-wah, GBS, JP is a Hong Kong politician. He was the Secretary for the Environment from 2007 to 2012, and from 2012 to 2017, he was the Director of the Chief Executive's Office of Hong Kong. He served as Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development from 2017 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Priscilla Leung</span> Hong Kong barrister and politician

Priscilla Leung Mei-funGBS JP is a barrister and Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, representing the Election Committee since 2022. She previously represented the Kowloon West constituency from 2008 to 2021. She was a member of Kowloon City District Council.

<i>Chor Lau-heung</i> (1979 TV series) 1979 Hong Kong TV series or program

Chor Lau-heung is a Hong Kong wuxia television series adapted from the first three novels in the Chu Liuxiang novel series by Taiwanese writer Gu Long. Adam Cheng starred as the titular protagonist, Chor Lau-heung. The series was first broadcast on TVB on September 3, 1979. The 65 episodes long series was divided into four parts: The Legend of Mo-fa (無花傳奇), The Great Desert (大沙漠), Legend of the Divine Palace (神宮傳奇) and The Final Battle (最後一戰).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong Free Press</span> Hong Kong online newspaper

Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) is a free, non-profit news website based in Hong Kong. It was co-founded in 2015 by Tom Grundy, who believed that the territory's press freedom was in decline, to provide an independent alternative to the dominant English-language newspaper of record in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lee Ka-chiu</span> Chief Executive of Hong Kong

John Lee Ka-chiu is a Hong Kong politician and former police officer who is the fifth and current Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Tang</span> Hong Kong security minister

Chris Tang Ping-keung is a Hong Kong law enforcement administrator who has been serving as the Secretary for Security of Hong Kong since June 2021. Tang joined the Hong Kong Police Force in 1987 immediately after his graduation from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a bachelor of social science in social work. He previously served as the Commissioner of Police of Hong Kong from 2019 to 2021, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) from 2018 to 2019, and Director of Operations of the Hong Kong Police Force from 2017 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Aylward</span> Canadian physician and epidemiologist

Bruce Aylward is a Canadian physician and epidemiologist. Since September 2017 he has been Senior Advisor to the Director-General of the World Health Organization. He is part of the implementation of the WHO's COVAX Facility. He has past experience in the areas of polio eradication, Zika virus, and Ebola.

Nabela Qoser is a Hong Kong journalist and broadcaster. Until end of May 2021, she was Assistant Programme Officer at Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and co-hosted the RTHK talk show. She attracted media attention in 2019 following her outspoken questioning of government officials.

<i>Hong Kong Connection</i> News documentary program

Hong Kong Connection, formerly The Common Sense, is a long-running news documentary television programme produced by Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK. It mainly covers Hong Kong politics, economics, education, disadvantaged, environmental protection, mainland China affairs, international affairs, etc. The programme premiered on 5 March 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Vines</span> British-Hong Kong journalist and writer

Stephen Vines is a British journalist, writer, broadcaster and restaurateur, who was based in Hong Kong from 1987 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taiwan and the World Health Organization</span> Taiwan and the WHO

Taiwan and the World Health Organization (WHO) have a complicated history due to their relationship with China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Algernon Yau</span> Hong Kong politician

Algernon Yau Ying-wah is the current Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development in Hong Kong, appointed on 1 July 2022 as part of John Lee's administration.

References

  1. ↑ "Stephen Vines, Author at Hong Kong Free Press HKFP". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  2. ↑ "TVB axes broadcasts of RTHK's English news programme The Pulse and arts show The Works". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  3. ↑ Grundy, Tom (2021-07-04). "The Pulse with Steve Vines is latest news show to be axed by public broadcaster RTHK". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  4. 1 2 "The Pulse: Coronavirus situations in New York city, London and Lombardy, Italy & interview with WHO Bruce Aylward" (MPEG4). RTHK. Interview by Yvonne Tong. RTHK VNEWS. 16:35 to 20:59. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. 1 2 Grundy, Tom. "Video: Top WHO doctor Bruce Aylward pretends not to hear journalist's Taiwan questions, ends video call". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  6. ↑ "香港電台電視 the Pulse".
  7. 1 2 Davidson, Helen (4 April 2020). "Hong Kong official reprimands TV station over WHO interview that mentioned Taiwan". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "RTHK rejects govt complaint over Taiwan interview". RTHK News . Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Wong, Rachel (16 April 2020). "Hong Kong broadcaster rejects WHO claim that interview with top doctor was 'distorted'". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.