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The Government today (August 7) announced the appointment of Mr Franklin Wong Wah-kay as the Director of Broadcasting, following an open-cum-in-service recruitment exercise. Mr Wong will take up the appointment tomorrow (August 8).
In welcoming Mr Wong's appointment, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Miss Denise Yue, said: "Mr Wong possesses sound professional skills, solid working experience in the broadcasting industry and proven management abilities. I have every confidence that he will bring his wealth of knowledge to the work of the Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and lead the department in meeting the challenges ahead. I am also confident that the staff of the RTHK will give him their best support under his leadership."
Brief biographical notes on Mr Wong are set out below:
Mr Franklin Wong Wah-kay
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Aged 65. Mr Franklin Wong Wah-kay has had an extensive career in broadcasting and the media, having served in senior positions in a number of local and overseas organisations in these fields both in the public and private sectors.
Mr Wong started his career in the RTHK (the then Radio Hong Kong) when he joined the Programme Officer grade in 1966 and had since assumed different roles as announcer, commentator and producer. He took part in the establishment of the new television service of RTHK in early 70s, and produced and directed RTHK's first drama series "Below the Lion Rock". He was subsequently seconded to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) as the Chief Publicity Officer in 1975-76, and later returned to the ICAC as the media team leader in 1990-94.
Mr Wong also served in a number of major broadcasting and media organisations overseas, including Astro Malaysia (Production Controller from 1997 to 1998) and MediaCorp Studios Pte Limited, Singapore (Chief Executive Officer from 2000 to 2003). During his tenure at MediaCorp, Mr Wong led and successfully carried out substantial business transformation of this 1,100-staff production arm of the publicly-funded broadcasting corporation.
From 2004 to 2007, Mr Wong was Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Beijing-based CultureLink, producing quality documentary series for distribution to major international television networks covering more than 90 countries.
Mr Wong graduated from the University of Hong Kong and has received training in radio and television production in the BBC, UK.
Ends/Thursday, August 7, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:15
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