COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA
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574 in 1994. Action films and comedies continued to dominate the market. The biggest box-office hits for the year included Rumble in the Bronx (which grossed $56 million), God of Gamblers II ($53 million) and Thunderbolt ($45 million). The film Chung King Express won the best movie, best director and best actor awards while the film He is a Woman, She is a Man won the best actress award at the 14th Hong Kong Film Awards.
The Film Censorship (Amendment) Ordinance 1995 came into operation on November 17. It empowers the Film Censorship Authority to examine the advertising material of Category III films. To provide moviegoers, particularly parents, with more information on Category II films, the amendment ordinance further refines Category II classification by creating two groups under it: Category IIA (Not Suitable for Children) and Category IIB (Not Suitable for Young Persons and Children). These Category II classifications are still advisory in nature. There is no change to the existing Category I (Suitable for All Ages) and Category III (Persons Aged 18 and Above Only) classifications.
Classification standards are based on the results of regular surveys of community views. A statutory panel of advisers, comprising about 300 members drawn from a wide cross-section of the community, assist in the classification process. The 10- member Board of Review (Film Censorship) established under the Film Censorship Ordinance has been made more representative by the replacement of three official members with non-official members.
During the year, 1 807 films intended for public exhibition were submitted for classification, compared with 1 687 in 1994. Of these, 372 were classified Category I (one with excisions), 738 Category II (38 with excisions) and 697 Category III (319 with excisions). In all, 9 029 items, including film trailers, instructional films and cultural films, were exempted from classification.
Postal Services
The Hong Kong Post Office aims to provide reliable, efficient and universal postal services at reasonable prices to meet the needs of Hong Kong and its international postal obligations. The Hong Kong Post Office changed to trading fund status on August 1, 1995. Under the new arrangement, the Post Office is to operate on a self- financing basis and enjoy a higher degree of flexibility in resource management. It will be able to respond more effectively to changes in markets and operating environment, improve productivity, efficiency and customer service standards as well as to introduce new services to its customers. Despite the changes in its financial and accounting framework, the Post Office remains a Government Department and its staff remain civil servants.
In 1995, the Hong Kong Post Office handled 1 190 million items of mail, or a daily average of 3.3 million items, representing an increase of 7.3 per cent over 1994. Some 77 per cent of the items involved local mail and 23 per cent overseas mail. The 1995 elections generated a total of 29.3 million items of mail. In respect of overseas mail, 10915 tonnes of letter mail and 5 121 tonnes of parcels were despatched by air, representing an increase of 3.1 per cent over 1994. Outward surface mail comprised 6 228 tonnes of letter mail and 3 174 tonnes of parcels, representing an increase of 4.1 per cent from 1994. The USA, China, the UK, Japan and Taiwan were major partners in letter mail while Japan, Canada, the UK, Taiwan and the Philippines were major partners in parcels.