Liu Lanchang
Lau Lan-cheong is a Hong Kong media professional and commentator. He formerly served as Senior Vice President of the News and Public Affairs Division of Asia Television and as Director of ATV News.
Life
In 1982, he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Renmin University of China, and later obtained a master's and a doctoral degree from the same university. He then worked in the editorial departments of the Hong Kong Economic Times, Sing Tao Daily, and the China section of Apple Daily, mainly responsible for cross-strait news and commentary. He also served as Public Relations Director at Phoenix Television.
In 1999, he joined Asia Television, where he successively held the posts of Director of the Publicity Department and Director of the Information Coordination Division. He was later promoted to Vice President. Lau, who is well-versed in current affairs in China, was responsible for current affairs programs such as Declassified Century of Hong Kong and Deng Xiaoping and Hong Kong. He also hosted the political commentary program Raise a Glass and Sing, frequently inviting Leung Chun-ying to express his views on the program. Together with Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference member Lew Mon-hung, he formed a think tank to study cross-strait relations.
In September 2011, the then Senior Vice President of the ATV News Division, Leung Ka-wing, resigned for failing to prevent the erroneous broadcast of the death of Jiang Zemin. Lau was promoted to Senior Vice President of the News and Public Affairs Division and Director of ATV News.[1][2]
In February 2016, he was dismissed after telling the media that ATV was at risk of ceasing broadcasts. However, on 4 February, he formally applied for voluntary severance and officially resigned from the position of Senior Vice President of the News and Public Affairs Division.[3]
In April 2016, Lau Lan-cheong published a documentary novel titled aTv Confidential Files through Dashan Culture Publishing House, revealing insider stories of ATV in fictional form.