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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
English. The second Chinese programme service, the Gold Network providing an alternate Chinese programme service, was inaugurated on 23rd July, 1956.
Approximately 14% of Rediffusion programmes are com- mercially sponsored, and the Chinese programme service offers music, news, drama, talks, sports, commentaries, women's features, children's shows, comedy, story-telling and theatre relays in Cantonese, Mandarin, Swatow, Hakka, Shanghai and other dialects. The English service features continuous daily broadcasts of musical entertainment, plays, studio presentations, news, B.B.C. and other relays, sports events, stock-market news, features for women and children and many other variety presentations.
Rediffusion employs 331 local people of whom 98% are Chinese, in addition to hundreds of musicians, soloists, story- tellers and dramatic artists.
Rediffusion rental for a loudspeaker is $10 a month and subscribers have a constant choice of the three programmes provided, which necessitates the origination of 51 hours of programmes each day.
Rediffusion, which commenced 29 years ago in the United Kingdom, operates in many parts of the Commonwealth, and the Hong Kong company, locally controlled, is part of this world-wide organization.
FILM INDUSTRY
Hong Kong film studios produced 215 films in 1956. In addition, 12 Hong Kong financed films were produced partly in the Colony and partly in Taiwan, Japan or Singapore. According to UNESCO figures, Hong Kong again gives place only to the United States of America, Japan and India for total film footage produced annually. Roughly one quarter of the films made in the Colony are in Mandarin (Kuoyu) dialect. The remainder are in Cantonese. There are eight major producing studios, as well as a large number of