Hong Kong’s dominant broadcaster TVB debuted a new variety show Sunday, mocking the city’s prominent public figures—including Chief Executive Carrie Lam—in one of the segments.
In a scene parodying a COVID-19 press conference, actor Wong Joe-lam, wearing rimless glasses and a wig, stands before a podium with a placard reading “Cheap Creative Officer.”
The last line on the placard says “Chief Executive of TVB Special Rubbish Dump Region,” ripping off the city’s official name.
Adjacent to “Lam” are actors playing University of Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung, called “Professor Circle”—which his last name in Cantonese is a homophone with—and Chuang Shuk-kwan, a Center for Health Protection official who leads the city’s COVID-19 press conferences.
The three then burst into song and thank Yuen and Chuang for their efforts in Hong Kong’s fight against the virus.
A title in the background of the press conference reads “Trust TVB, no need to be scared.”
The wording is potentially a reference to a viral news clip from last January, during the early days of COVID-19, in which a group of maskless pro-Beijing supporters in Guangzhou told a Hong Kong reporter that they do not fear the virus because they trust the government.
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According to TVB’s website, “Have a Big Laugh” airs every Sunday at 8:30 pm.
Wong, who played the Chief Executive in the skit, told HK01 he hopes that the show can be more down-to-earth.
“We hope that the show can involve a little bit of current affairs… in the past we haven’t done much of that, but we hope that this time we can be more open-minded and comical,” he added.
When asked about whether he is afraid that the segment’s subject might be “sensitive,” he brought up social media and said laughingly, “A lot of things now are sensitive.”
A pro-government broadcaster that has been nicknamed “CCTVB” for its tendency to portray the city’s political opposition in a more negative light, TVB is generally disliked by supporters of the pro-democracy movement.
Last week, when a TVB presenter reported outside a COVID-infected public housing estate, a passerby yelled “Eat s***, TVB!”
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