COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA
services in those areas. Mong Kok Post Office, Kennedy Town Post Office and Airport Post Office were reprovisioned to make way for redevelopment.
With the commissioning of the mechanised letter sorting system in July and its successful implementation, plans are in hand to extend the installation of letter sorting machines to two major delivery offices in the New Territories in order to improve efficiency and productivity.
There are also plans to introduce automation in other postal operations. One of these is to replace the existing mechanical stamp vending machines (which dispense only one denomination of stamps) with electronic stamp vending machines which can issue stamps of four different denominations and provide change facilities. The added features and flexibilities will provide greater convenience to customers.
The Post Office issued five sets of special stamps in 1991. The first set, comprising four stamps, a souvenir sheet and a stamp booklet, was released in January 1991 to mark the Year of the Ram, the fifth in the current Lunar New Year series which started in 1987.
The second set, featuring the Hong Kong education system, was released in April. Another set, depicting several interesting modes of transport from the early days of Hong Kong to modern times, was released in June.
The fourth set, commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Post Office, was released in August. This set comprised five stamps and a stamp sheetlet.
The last set, which was released in October 1991, comprised five stamps each depicting a famous Hong Kong landmark, namely, the Bronze Buddha on Lantau Island, the Wong Tai Sin Temple, the Clock Tower in Tsim Sha Tsui, the Peak Pavilion and the Catholic Cathedral.
A prestige album and history of the Hong Kong Post Office was released in November to commemorate its 150th anniversary,
During the year the Post Office introduced an International Business Reply Service whereby overseas customers could correspond with Hong Kong companies using a reply card or envelope without the need to pay postage. Initially the service is available between Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, Singapore, Israel, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway on a reciprocal basis. Extension of the service to other countries will be pursued as demand indicates.
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Broadcasting Authority
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The regulation of television and commercial sound broadcasting is the responsibility of the Broadcasting Authority, a statutory body established in September 1987. The authority has 12 members, nine of whom are appointed non-official members representing a cross-section of the community and three are government officers. Its major function is to secure proper standards in programme content and technical performance of the two wireless television licensees and the two commercial radio licensees through provisions in the Television Ordinance, Telecommunication Ordinance and the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance.
The authority's jurisdiction would also be extended to cover satellite television and sound broadcast.
During the year, the authority advised the government on the terms and conditions under which the licence for the second commercial radio service and satellite master antenna television systems should be granted.
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