possible for lack of ferry piers to re-open the pre-war services to Kowloon City and Hung Hom. The ferry piers at Tsun Wan, Tsing I Island and Castle Peak are still to be reconstructed. As a result the existing ferry and bus services remain overcrowded. Passenger ferry services provided by the Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry Company to Cheung Chau Island, Silvermine Bay in Lantau and to Ping Chau Island have been well patronized especially during week ends and holidays in the summer months by people who wish to bathe from the clean and beautiful beaches on these Islands. Other visitors visit Lantau to climb to the Summer Rest Camp or the monastery at Ngong Ping which are situated at about 2,000 feet above sea level.
Salvage operations have been begun on the sunken passenger ferry vessel "Man Tak" and the vehicular ferry "Man Gok" both of which were sunk during the war by Allied bombers in the West River about 150 miles from Hong Kong. It is hoped that both vessels may be back in Hong Kong by the end of 1949.
Operating costs of all services have remained high.
Broadcasting.
Radio Hong Kong is a sub-department under the control of the Postmaster General. Transmissions are made from two stations, ZBW (845 k/cs.) which is an English language station and ZEK (640 k/cs.) from which broadcasts are made in Chinese. Short-wave transmissions are also made from ZBW on a frequency of 9.525 megacycles. Broadcasting programme hours have been increased during the year under review to cover the introduction of religious services and French, Portuguese and Indian pro- grammes. Before this year, there had been no programmes before 12.30 p.m. (10.30 a.m. on Sundays) but on 17th June, an experiment was made in broadcasting from 7.30 a.m. to 9.00 a.m. This early broadcast proved extremely popular and on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve, continuous broadcasting was provided from 8.00 a.m. to midnight. The question of making early morning broadcasts a regular daily feature is under consideration.
The Chinese Section of Radio Hong Kong continues to be hampered by the acute shortage of Chinese gramophone records and the expense of engaging suitable 'live' talent.
engaging suitable 'live' talent. The European Section of Radio Hong Kong has made use of the BBC Transcrip- tion Service, the plays and features of which have proved very popular. In this comparatively small European community local talent is necessarily limited but it has, nevertheless, been possible to form a radio repertory company and valuable contributions have been made by the local Stage Club and the Garrison Players. The
114
*