1
B 23
Ar Cortazzi
!:
1
RE.
30 MAN 1977
CONFIDENTIAL
HKK 210/1
25/Lord Goronwy-Roberts
Торсы
UKK 307/548/1
HONG KONG1 GRANADA TV PROGRAMME "WORLD IN ACTION"
1. The Granada TV series "World in Action" broadcast a programme on child labour in Hong Kong on 13 December. It was entitled "lúude in Hong Kong" and concentrated, seasonably enough, on the 10y industry. The department has delayed submitting on this Latter until first reactions to the programme were available.
latur of the Programne
2. The general consensus among the members of the department who watched the film was that while it set out to be highly critical of Hong Kong alleged toleration of illegal child labour by the Government, inadequate fines imposed by the courts for child labour offences, failure to enforce safety measures and to pay proper compensation for industrial injuries eta it was not as damaging as advance information about the programm@ had suggested. In a number of instances the film lacked credibility. Thus, for example, pictures of employees arriving for work at a factory were taken at long-range since, the viewer was told, the cameramen were not allowed near because of "tight security". The faces of some of those interviewed were blacked out because identification could have led to "fear of reprisals“. It was asserted that oneras had to be concealed in factories in order to obtain pictures of children, that children at work were hidden in places where they would not be found by visiting labour inspectors, and that warning systems were installed in factories to give notice of impending visits by inspectors. None of these assertions were substantiated. In fact, the programme produced little evidence of child labour in industrial establishments: there were two scanes only of children at work in factories. It was not stated that the children in question were below the uge of 14, the legal limit for employment in industrial establishments. On the other hand, there were a number of pictures
CONFIDENTIAL