Roy Tang

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Tang.

Roy Tang Yun-kwong
JP
鄧忍光
Commissioner of Customs and Excise
In office
21 October 2021 (2021-10-21) – 21 October 2021 (2021-10-21)
Preceded byClement Cheung
Succeeded byHermes Tang
Director of Broadcasting
In office
15 September 2011 (2011-09-15) – 6 August 2015 (2015-08-06)
Preceded byFranklin Wong
Succeeded byLeung Ka-wing
Personal details
Born (1963-09-21) 21 September 1963 (age 61)
NationalityChinese (Hong Kong)
Roy Tang Yun-kwong
Roy Tang
Chinese鄧忍光
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDeng Renguang
Yue: Cantonese
Hong Kong RomanisationTang Yun-kwong

Roy Tang Yun-kwong[1] (Chinese: 鄧忍光; pinyin: Deng Renguang)[2] was a Hong Kong public servant. He served as the Director of Broadcasting at Radio Television Hong Kong from 2011-2015, and was the territory's twelfth Commissioner of Customs and Excise.

As Director of Broadcasting at Radio Television HK, Tang was involved in a number of controversies. His appointment was initially criticised by detractors because he did not have any previous broadcasting experience. He was suspected of political interference in 2012, when he proposed terminating the long running programme Legco Review which reported on Hong Kong's legislature, in 2013, when his criticism led to changes to an episode of the parody programme Headliner and when he objected to the promotion of an assistant director. Tang was appointed Commissioner of Customs and Excise in 2015, followed, in 2017, by his appointed as Permanent Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs,[3] a role he served in until his retirement in 2022[4]

Early career

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Tang first joined the Administrative Service for the Government of Hong Kong in 1987[3] and served in various capacities before being appointed Deputy Secretary for Labour and Welfare in 2010.[3]

Director of Broadcasting at Radio Television HK

[edit]

On 9 September 2011, Tang was appointed by the Hong Kong government as the Director of Broadcasting, the head of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK).[5] Tang's appointment took effect on September 15, 2011.[6] Tang did not have previous broadcasting experience.[6][7] This led to some suggestions of government intervention into freedom of the press and fear that he would interfere with their editorial independence.[7]

After Tang took up his broadcasting post, he was criticised for politically interfering with the affairs of the RTHK.[8] A survey conducted by the Democratic Party in 2013 revealed that over 40% of its respondents wished for Tang to step down from his position.[2]

Tang dual role as chief editor of broadcasting at RTHK and an administrative officer in the government was also challenged.[9][10]

Legco Review controversy

[edit]

In 2012 in an internal meeting, Tang suggested terminating the 26-year-old Legco Review, a programme on Hong Kong's legislature.[11] This caused controversy. Opponents of move suggested Tang was attempting to eliminate RTHK's ability to criticise controversial world issues and viewed Tang's actions as political interference. They aired their grievances through the mass media, creating groups and pages on social media like Facebook to draw attention to the issue.[12] Some even made fun of Tang by nicknaming him "the last samurai of RTHK"[13] or spoofing his photos.[14] Proponents believed that RTHK's programmes were mostly used to mock the government officials and government policies in a one-sided manner. They claimed that Tang, as a government official, could balance the internal views in RTHK towards the government. Thus, they staged a rally [15] and started campaigns to support Tang.

Headliner controversy

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In 2013, Tang criticized the idea of using Adolf Hitler and the Nazis as characters in the parody programme Headliner.[16] In the end, the producers scrapped the idea and used characters from the story Journey to the West instead. This led to criticism that Tang was using his authority to interfere with RTHK's editorial independence.[17]

Sze Wing-yuen controversy

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In 2013, Tang did not approve the promotion of Sze Wing-yuen, RTHK's assistant director of TV and corporate business. Some claimed that it was because Sze had defied Tang's orders,[18] hindering the completion of Tang's "political mission".[19][20]

Later years

[edit]

In 2015, Tang was appointed Commissioner of Customs and Excise.[1] As with the RTHK, Tang was chosen for the role despite no previous customs experience.[21]

This was followed, in 2017, by his appointed as Permanent Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs.[3] Tang attracted criticism in 2018 when he was allowed back into the territory despite losing his Hong Kong ID card and mainland Chinese entry permit.[22] Tang served as Permanent Secretary until his retirement in 2022[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Government of Hong Kong (20 August 2015). "Senior appointment (with photo)". Government Information Centre.
  2. ^ a b "民調：逾4成人指鄧忍光不宜任廣播處長". RTHK. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d Government of Hong Kong (22 June 2017). "Senior appointments (with photos)". Government Information Centre.
  4. ^ a b "Senior appointments announced". Hong Kong's Information Services Department (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  5. ^ "Appointment of Director of Broadcasting (with photo)". Information Services Department. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Appointment of Director of Broadcasting (with photo)". Hong Kong's Information Services Department. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Black carpet welcomes RTHK's new boss to his first day in broadcasting". South China Morning Post. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  8. ^ "RTHK employee threatens to lift lid on political interference". South China Morning Post. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  9. ^ "RTHK union lashes out at chief". South China Morning Post. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  10. ^ "Ex-RTHK deputy criticises director Roy Tang's leadership". South China Morning Post. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  11. ^ "RTHK chief Roy Tang may ditch Legco TV show". South China Morning Post. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  12. ^ "不信任鄧忍光運動". Facebook. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  13. ^ "Press Freedom Erodes". Free Hong Kong. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  14. ^ "本週之星：大獨裁者鄧忍光". 主場新聞. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  15. ^ "「愛港之聲」撐鄧忍光持平路線". Wenweipo. 19 March 2013.
  16. ^ "RTHK spat grows as radio host joins fray". The Standard. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  17. ^ "鄧忍光批「滅絕人性」". Metro Hong Kong. 12 March 2013. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  18. ^ "升遷未卜 施永遠未驚過". 明報 (Ming Pao). 26 March 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  19. ^ "施永遠：港台工作感政治壓力". now.com 新聞 (now.com News). 12 March 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  20. ^ "RTHK veteran Forever Sze Wing-yuen: I'm under 'political pressure'". South China Morning Post. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  21. ^ "Another administrative officer – former Radio Television Hong Kong boss Roy Tang – becomes new customs commissioner". South China Morning Post. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  22. ^ "'Special privileges' row after official passes immigration with no ID". South China Morning Post. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2025.