Hong Kong – 212 ‘non-artistes’ were to receive termination letters today at Hong Kong’s dominant commercial broadcaster TVB. Confirmed Friday by the external affairs department, cutbacks are put down to a need to maintain competitiveness and prepare for the challenges ahead. None of TVB’s stars, popular not just in the SAR but with Chinese-speaking audiences across the region, will lose their jobs at this time but their pay has been frozen. A spokesperson said that production would be especially affected by the job cuts due to the size of that department.