People
Frustrated Tai Pan mulls ending legislator role
The former talk show host also said he was ¡§blacklisted¡¨ by news organisations, leaving him with little media exposure and hence an unproductive and reserved image.
Mr Cheng said many people he met on the street had told him that ¡§you have been very quiet, you seldom appear on newspaper, radio or TV¡¨.
¡§What can I do?¡¨ he asked.
He attributed his poor media coverage to the boycott by the news organisations. ¡§I have entered the blacklist of the mass media. I spoke so much during the panel meetings (in Legco) but it was not broadcast,¡¨ he said.
He said his comments were given little media coverage even during the Link REIT controversy, when none of the radio stations took the initiative to interview him. ¡§I had to force myself on air (during the controversy). I had to call the radio stations,¡¨ he said. However, he still sees the radio a platform to pursue his ambition and to safeguard the interests of the poor.
Mr Cheng was so committed to free speech that he decided to continue his talk show even after he was chopped by two attackers outside Commercial Radio in 1998.
But Mr Cheng said he had no plan to be back in the broadcasting industry, as the only way he could achieve something through the radio was to have his own radio station. He said that was something impossible because of the tight government control.
Mr Cheng said the freedom of speech in Hong Kong had tightened, citing that some people were allowed to talk while some were not because of their radical stance.
He described the current talk show hosts as ¡§chihuahuas¡¨, and himself as a ¡§watchdog¡¨.
¡§The government puts the mask on (the) watchdogs but allows the chihuahuas to bark,¡¨ he said, adding the government could claim that ¡§dogs are still allowed to bark¡¨.
Looking back, Mr Cheng said his experience over the past few years was not a total loss, as the legislator job allowed him to learn how the government worked from a new perspective.
¡§I am never disappointed...It¡¦s a learning experience for me,¡¨ he said.
