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The following is issued on behalf of the Communications Authority:
The Communications Authority (CA) will publish a notice tomorrow (August 21) to invite members of the public to express their views on an application for domestic free television programme service licence (free TV licence) by Forever Top (Asia) Limited (Forever Top).
Apart from publishing the notice in the Gazette on August 21, the CA will arrange for the notice to be published in two local newspapers (Metro Daily and South China Morning Post) and uploaded to the CA's website (www.coms-auth.hk) on the same day.
The CA received the application from Forever Top on April 15, 2015. The CA received further information and clarifications from Forever Top in July. The CA will process the application in accordance with the Broadcasting Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 562), the guidance notes promulgated by the CA for processing free TV licence applications and established procedures before submitting recommendations to the Chief Executive in Council, which is the authority to grant a domestic free television programme service licence under section 10(1) of the BO.
Section 9(3) of the BO provides, inter alia, that the CA shall consult the public on the application by publishing a notice in the Gazette stating the name of the applicant and the type of licence sought by the applicant together with such other particulars as the CA thinks fit.
Members of the public may submit their views on the application to the CA from August 21 to October 2, 2015, through any of the following means:
By post: The Communications Authority
20/F, Wu Chung House
213 Queen's Road East
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
By fax: (852) 2507 2219
By email: consultation-forevertop@ofca.gov.hk
All comments received will not be treated as being made in confidence unless specified otherwise. The CA may reproduce and publish the submissions received in whole or in part (except for confidential information as marked) in any form without seeking the permission of or providing acknowledgement to the party making the submission.
For the avoidance of doubt, the particulars of the application in the notice are provided by Forever Top. By issuing the notice, the CA and the Government are not to be treated as confirming the veracity of the particulars of the application. Nor are they to be treated as, in any way, accepting, approving, permitting or providing consent to any aspects of the application including, but not limited to, the proposals for investment commitment, programming arrangements and transmission means. Nothing in the notice shall affect or prejudice any powers, duties, discretion and rights of the CA or the Government.
Ends/Thursday, August 20, 2015
Issued at HKT 09:01
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