COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA
In order to strengthen public relations efforts in North America, the government appointed the New York firm of Gavin Anderson and Company in 1987 to implement a public relations plan and strategy for Hong Kong. They assist with speaking platforms in North America and with speaking tours for visiting speakers from Hong Kong.
Europe
The Brussels office is responsible, among other things, for the government's publicity efforts in 10 of the member states of the European Community. The United Kingdom and Eire are the responsibility of the London Office. The information section there works closely with GIS to provide material on Hong Kong matters in response to enquiries from the European media and to organise briefings for journalists visiting Hong Kong.
It invites people of influence in member states' governments, the Commission of the EEC and the European Parliament who have shown an interest in Hong Kong to visit the territory, under sponsorship of the Hong Kong government. In addition, it arranges speaking engagements in many EEC countries for senior Hong Kong government officials and representatives of the business community, distributes feature articles and news re- leases to selected media contacts, and offers a more general enquiry and information service to the public.
Japan
The Tokyo office is responsible for government's publicity efforts in Japan. It liaises with Japanese ministries and arranges programmes for Japanese government officials to visit Hong Kong. It also organises speaking engagements for senior Hong Kong government officials in Japan.
Printing and Publishing
The international status of Hong Kong's printing industry has continued to grow steadily in recent years, based upon a reputation for good printing quality, quick and reliable delivery and competitive prices. As a leading centre for printing and publishing, the territory's growth has led to the formation of 3 980 printing establishments, employing 36 414 people, and more than 200 publishing houses, including many from overseas which have set up offices or regional headquarters here. Continued growth of the industry during the year can be attributed to the confidence of employers in the future of Hong Kong, and to the relative depreciation of the Hong Kong dollar against most other currencies which has enabled Hong Kong printers to obtain more orders from overseas. Hong Kong printers are still investing substantially in advanced machinery and equipment and are taking a more positive step in developing the Unites States market.
The industry constitutes eight per cent of all manufacturing establishments and five per cent of employment in the manufacturing sector. Most of the printing factories (77 per cent) are engaged in general jobbing work, and most of the remainder deal with related work, such as typesetting and bookbinding. There are also 31 newspaper printers.
Use of the latest technology, especially computerised equipment, has enabled the in- dustry to become highly specialised. The local electronics industry contributes to the plant and equipment of the more sophisticated printing companies and also the publishers, who are becoming increasingly involved in the use of data and word-processing systems for editorial production and stock control.
The sales and marketing of data and word-processing systems are now handled by more than 100 companies offering over 200 systems. The output data can be converted
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