Hong Kong replaces BBC with Chinese state radio

Hong Kong: Authorities in Hong Kong on Tuesday replaced a 24-hours BBC World Service radio channel, that has been running for 39 years, with China National Radio's Mandarin-language broadcast.

An online petition against the move initiated by Alex Hofford, a Hong Kong-based British activist, has already garnered around 1,000 signatures and warns that the move will make Hong Kong, which touts itself as an international city, appear "more parochial and inward-looking", reports Efe news. "We are not against the service provided by China National News. We just don't want Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) to broadcast China National News at the expense of the BBC programming which many Hong Kong people rely on for news from far flung places," the petition said.