COMMUNICATIONS, THE MEDIA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
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To increase the competitiveness of the local film industry, a $100-million Film Development Fund was established in January to provide financial support to projects which can enhance the industry's professional and technological capabilities, stimulate creativity, facilitate the production of advanced special effects and improve skills in the work force. By the end of the year, a total of $11.6 million had been allocated to fund nine projects.
To make the regulatory regime on film censorship as user- and business-friendly as possible, the Film Censorship Ordinance has been reviewed and the legislation amended to streamline its operation and improve the quality of service to the film industry. Improvement measures have been implemented since June.
A new regulatory framework, tailor-made for the operational needs of the industry, has been drawn up to govern the use of dangerous goods in creating special effects scenes in films, television programmes and theatrical performances. A bill on this framework is expected to be introduced into the Legislative Council in 2000.
To promote the long-term development of the film industry and encourage infrastructural investment in film production, the Government will make available a site in Tseung Kwan O (Area 106) of 14 600 square metres and designate it for film production facilities. The goal is to strengthen local film production capabilities and make Hong Kong a production as well as post-production service centre in Asia.
Postal Services
Hongkong Post provides reliable, efficient and universal postal services at reasonable prices to meet the needs of Hong Kong and its international postal obligations. Since August 1, 1995, Hongkong Post has operated as a trading fund department. This gives it a higher degree of flexibility in resource management and enables it to respond more effectively to changes in markets and customer needs, improve productivity, efficiency and customer service, and introduce new services to its customers.
During the year, Hongkong Post handled 1.28 billion items of mail, or a daily average of 3.5 million items, representing an increase of 1.6 per cent over 1998. Some 82.5 per cent of the items involved were local mail and 17.5 per cent overseas mail. Some 10 702 tonnes of letter mail and 2 323 tonnes of parcels were dispatched overseas by air, representing an increase of 4.7 per cent from 1998. The Mainland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Singapore were major partners in letter mail while Japan, the United States, Taiwan and Canada were major partners in parcels.
Performance pledges are published for the delivery of mail, philatelic and counter services. Hongkong Post achieved a very high performance in most of its pledges. In particular, in 1999 it exceeded for the first time the target of 98 per cent in next day delivery of local mail.
In March, an independent firm was appointed to conduct the third annual public perception survey of Hongkong Post's services. The overall satisfaction levels remained high, with some 97 per cent, 95 per cent and 96 per cent of customers respectively in the business, general public and philately areas being satisfied or very satisfied with the services.
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