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Image by Ruslan Bardash

CHUA'S OPINION

不應混淆政治與奧運

不應混淆政治與奧運

Spielberg should address his concerns over Darfur to Bush

Spielberg should address his concerns over Darfur to Bush

No winners in staff disputes

The satellite TV station I founded, China Entertainment Television Broadcast Ltd (CETV,) has a secure future now that Time Warner has come on board as a partner. In its earlier days, CETV had more than its fair share of financial problems. At one stage I had to make half the staff redundant. This has been widely reported in the media. There have been false reports and rumours suggesting that I did not pay my staff or cut their salaries. This "For the Record" section aims to set the record straight.

I would like to point out that everyone who worked at CETV was paid in full what they were owed. And throughout the recent Asian recession, while companies were cutting salaries and benefits just because their margins were squeezed, I never cut wages. Although CETV was on the verge of closing down many times, everyone was paid in full.

I admit salaries were sometimes paid late. This resulted in a group of employees taking the company to the Labour Court. Under Hong Kong Labour Law they would only be compensated for their term of service if they were terminated, not in the case of resignation, so they went to Court claiming the late payment amounted to dismissal. It was not a case of winning or losing. I just paid them what they were owed.

In the end the staff who took the company to court suffered because many have still not been able to find full time employment. Had they remained loyal and supported the company they would still have jobs. By going for the quick windfall of full compensation for time served they have effectively traded their jobs for a one-off payment. It must have also hurt their self esteem to nearly drive the company into bankruptcy.

Staff disputes always cast the company concerned in a negative light in the eyes of the public. You need to consider the real issues. Any salary cut or redundancy done for the sake of a company's survival should be supported in my opinion. Once the company is on a more secure financial footing, staff made redundant can be reemployed.

Staff made redundant should consider the reason they were asked to leave. If an entire department has been scrapped, then the redundancy is probably not related to any past performance of the employees. On the other hand if the number working in a department has been cut, then those made redundant tend to be the poor performers.

The lesson for me from this staff dispute was that nobody ends up winning.

No-one wins in ridiculous gameshows

Veteran Asian TV entrepreneur Robert Chua believes the poor standard of the Asian gameshow formats business has serious cultural and moral implications.

"Quizzes and gameshows are produced very cheaply in Hong Kong and Taiwan, with famous singers and TV and film stars taking part instead of ordinary contestants. To avoid losing more viewers to cable and satellite, terrestrial TV should be producing more quality quizzes and gamers to take advantage of the fact they don't have to compete with a 24/7 channel dedicated to the genre, such as the Game Show Network in the US.

Other genres, such as movies, sports, documentaries and cartoons, have several dedicated 24-hour channels competing for the same audience, but not gameshows. On average, only two hours of such programmes are shown a day on terrestrial TV in Hong Kong.

It is a shame that few overseas TV formats are taken up by Asian channels. Instead of licensing overseas formats, many Asian stations prefer to create their own brand of programmes inspired by Taiwanese-styled gameshows. Some locally created shows are poorly conceived and produced tastelessly. I can excuse poor quality or conception due to lack of experience, but I cannot accept tasteless content, which is down to lack of judgment.

Korea hardly ever licenses foreign TV formats. In Hong Kong, only two international gameshow formats (Deal or No Deal and 1 vs 100) were licensed in 2007 between the two terrestrial channels. Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam licensed more TV formats than Hong Kong and Taiwan. I believe South-east Asia, led by Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, offers more opportunities for the format business.

The quality of gameshows in Asia has gone downhill over the years. I put the blame on a lack of creativity and on irresponsible TV executives who fail to maintain reasonable moral and social standards in their programmes. I believe television is responsible for the declining cultural and moral values in Asia, as demonstrated by the shameless, tasteless and downright stupid quizzes and gameshows created in Hong Kong and Taiwan. I cringe each time I watch one.

Hong Kong and Taiwan are home to Asia's most famous Chinese singers and TV/movies stars. With such a large pool of famous personalities, they are able to produce gameshows while paying hardly any talent fees, merely offering the chance to win prizes. Gameshows with ordinary contestants have no replay or distribution value, but shows with 'personality contestants' have, as they can be distributed to maximise profit. Where is the incentive to try to create or acquire TV formats when any silly and ridiculously conceived show can be guaranteed success by merely adding famous personalities?

One recent gameshow hit from Hong Kong is a five-nights-a-week programme simply about tasting, sensing and feeling food. It includes a cast of beautiful young ladies in mini-skirts to help spice up the show, with famous singers and TV/film stars there simply to win cash prizes each time they get a correct answer or perform a stupid, silly and degrading stunt.

These feats include a personality being blindfolded and singing a song while trying to identify different kinds of sauces or ingredients as they are slipped into their mouth or onto their tongue. Another stunt requires the celebrity to be blindfolded and feel two objects to identify which is edible. If the wrong object is chosen, the contestant will be asked to eat it, or lick it if it's inedible. For example, it could be a watermelon or a man's bald head. In another example, the celeb sucks up a string of noodles in one breath for five seconds and then spits it out to measure its length.

Is that not disgusting and revolting? All these stunts are done just for laughs as the stars make fools of themselves. Real bank notes are counted loudly as they are handed over each time a personality wins. It is a display of greed, and such showing of cash used to be frowned upon in the early days of TV.

If we watch people behaving so poorly, foolishly and disgustingly we just condoned the imitation of such behaviour. I am sure that children will be influenced by their idols' actions on these shows and treat it as the norm. Instead of responsible edutainment or infotainment, this provides Hong Kong with what I call 'degratainment' shows.

Broadcasters should not produce shows that degrade their community's cultural and moral values."

Image by Ruslan Bardash

Comments Received

Name: Rob Miller
Email:  can_Miller3585@escapedemail.com

cool site

Name: Peter Musngi
Email:  pmusngi@abs-cbn.com

The 71st UAAP swimming championships was attended by President Keren Pascual and Vice President Robert Chua, together with the members of the cabinet: PASCUAL ANNOUNCES HIS CABINET MEMBERS Manila, June 1, 2007 – Newly proclaimed Philippine President Keren Pascual earlier announced some of his would-be cabinet members. Here are some of them: First Lady Maria Teresa Lorenzo Dee – Secretary of Social Welfare & Development. Corazon Alma De Leon – Agriculture TVB executive Run Run Shaw – Executive Secretary Norman Leung Nai Pang – Defense PCSO draw coordinator Ariel de Ocampo – Press RCBC President and CEO Lorenzo V. Tan – Finance Secretary Alberto Romulo – Foreign Affairs (incumbent) Governor Amando Tengco – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (incumbent) Raul Gonzales – Justice Secretary (incumbent) Joseph Ace Durano – Tourism (incumbent) GMA Network President and CEO Atty. Felipe Gozon – Transportation & Communications Unilab President Carlos Ejercito – Health UNILAB Chairman Jocelyn Campos-Hess – Education Philippine Daily Inquirer President and CEO Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez – Philippine Tourism Authority McCann Worldgroup Chairman Emily Altomonte Abrera – Trade and Industry Healing Eucharist Inc. Vice President Jerry Orbos – Agrarian Reform Golden Arches Development Corporation Chairman George Yang – Labor Associated Broadcasting Company President and CEO Antonio Cojuangco – Government Service and Insurance Healing Eucharist, Inc. President Fr. Glenn Paul M. Gomez – Social Security System Fr. Anton C.T. Pascual, Fr. Manuel Bongayan, Fr. Arlo Yap – Spiritual Directors

Name: HUI Wing
Email:  laifong888@yahoo.com.hk

Good Morning Mr. Chua, I am Hui Wing who sent you my on-air TV host clippings and VO samples last Friday (delivered to your pffice at Central). I think your station could let me to unleash my talent. Besides, I could also handle back-stage work such as script-writing , researching and programme content development, I am sure that would maximize my contributions to your station. Look forward to hearing from you soon. Enjoy the rest of the day!

Best Regards,

Wing

9057 1108

Name: andrea
Email:  prioseminars@festivaldorio.com.br

Hi Robert, how are you? it’s Andréa from the Riofilmfestival , we need the adress of channel to send to you the catalog of the festival.

 

Thank you very much,

Andrea prado

Name: HUI Wing
Email:  laifong888@yahoo.com.hk

Good Morning Mr. Chua, I am Hui Wing who sent you my on-air TV host clippings and VO samples last Friday (delivered to your pffice at Central). I think your station could let me to unleash my talent. Besides, I could also handle back-stage work such as script-writing , researching and programme content development, I am sure that would maximize my contributions to your station. Look forward to hearing from you soon. Enjoy the rest of the day!

Best Regards,

Wing

9057 1108

Name: andrea
Email:  prioseminars@festivaldorio.com.br

Hi Robert, how are you? it’s Andréa from the Riofilmfestival , we need the adress of channel to send to you the catalog of the festival.

 

Thank you very much,

Andrea prado

Name:officer
Email:  ceo@ceo.gov.hk

Hihi

Name: Martin Evan-Jones
Email:  martin.evan-jones@tdc.org.hk

Dear Robert, It is a long time since I’ve been in contact. I’m wondering if you would be interested in carrying out a video webcast with my empl;oyer, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, about your interactive TV concept? Our webcast service is one of the most popular on the HKTDC portal, www.tdctrade.com, which currently has more than seven million global click-on visitors a day interested in business and trade in Greater China.

 

Best regards,

Martin Evan-Jones

Editor,

Research Department Hong Kong Trade Development Council

38/F Office Tower, Convention Plaza 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai Hong Kong

Tel: (852)-2584-4579

Fax: (852)-2169-9783

Website: www.tdctrade.com

Name: Nguyen Thanh Tu
Email:  thanhtu_ntt@yahoo.com.vn

Dear Uncle, Good luck!

Name: Nguyen Thanh Tu
Email:  viethung_antiques@yahoo.com

Hi,Uncle Your website so good.I like it.

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