292
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
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 474 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 per month, and subscribers have a constant choice of the three programmes provided, which involves the origination of 51 hours of programmes each day.
Rediffusion, which commenced 30 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.
Television. On 29th May, 1957, His Excellency the Governor, Sir Alexander Grantham, G.C.M.G., officially opened the first Television service in any British Colony, operated by Rediffusion (H.K.) Ltd.; and the service has been growing in popularity and quality of service since that date. At the end of 1957 a total of almost 2,000 subscribers had been reached.
1]
Equipment includes the latest Pye telecine-camera chains with double channels for both 16mm and 35mm films and a full complement of studio and control equipment. Because of the language problem in Hong Kong all Chinese films carry English captions and vice versa.
Programmes are originated from air-conditioned studios, and these include many 'live' presentations such as Can- tonese operas, dance orchestras, night-club acts, children's features, and interviews. The most popular filmed television shows have been imported from the United Kingdom and America for local transmission, and a full-length feature film