A Hong Kong television station has been fined HK$300,000 ($39,000) for erroneously reporting that former Chinese president Jiang Zemin had died, the Broadcasting Authority said Monday. Asia Television Ltd (ATV), one of two free-to-view broadcasters in the self-governed Chinese city, had cited unspecified sources to report on July 6 that the 85-year-old grandee had died.
It apologised for the error the following day but the Broadcasting Authority said it had "found the complaints against inaccurate news reporting and late correction of factual errors substantiated." "The BA regrets that ATV has adopted an irresponsible approach in its response to BA's inquiry. The BA decided that a financial penalty of $300,000 should be imposed on ATV," it said in a statement.
Jiang reportedly still wields significant power in the Communist Party's inner sanctum. The mistake prompted Leung Ka-wing, ATV senior vice-president of news and public affairs, and his deputy to quit in September. Speculation that Jiang may be seriously ill surfaced after the former leader failed to appear at celebrations marking the Communist Party's 90th birthday in early July. He stepped down as the country's president in 2003 after guiding the nation through more than a decade of blistering economic growth.
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