Thanks again for all the advice and points.
Raccon--no, no new agreement. I have had only one agreement. As DeletedUser mentioned, the lease has the standard one month notice situation (which is how they've raised the rent). I should add that it is very clear in the lease that I am not responsible for repairs as long as I don't damage the structure, etc.
Also, it's not a dispute...yet. I haven't really said anything after the Whatsapp saying that I could buy my own TV or he could continue to ask some friends if they had any old TVs they didn't want. At the most optimistic, the landlord might not even know about these responsibilities so I'm thinking carefully about how I want to approach this.
I don't want to threaten to move (yet), or take money out of the rent. I think I still have a good deal living here and so far the landlord has been easy to get along with and responded well. Perhaps the landlord knows this too, which is why he is trying to get out of replacing the 37" TV.
If I was sure I was staying in HK long term, I would buy a TV and be done with it. But I'm not, so I am going back and forth between bryant.english's 'just get a used telly and forget it' and 'not being a soft touch'.
I'm still thinking I will start off by replying (or getting a local friend to help) and saying something like 'I'm disappointed the TV couldn't be fixed and would really like it replaced' and see how he responds.
I feel his tactic will be to delay and 'ask more friends'. I will then counter by asking for a few months delay on raising the rent. This will save me at least half the price of a new TV or the full price of a used one. If that works, I'll be happy.
What do you think? Thanks again for your advice.