COMMUNICATIONS, THE MEDIA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
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Radio
Hong Kong has 13 radio channels-seven operated by RTHK, three by Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company Limited and three by Metro Broadcast Corporation Limited.
Radio Television Hong Kong
RTHK is a publicly funded, editorially independent broadcaster whose mission is to provide quality programmes that inform, educate and entertain the people of Hong Kong. RTHK launched its Internet service in December 1994 and now provides 24- hour live webcast of its six radio channels and TV programmes, plus an online archive service for programmes broadcast in the past 12 months. The daily average access rate has reached over eight million website hits, 40 per cent of them coming from overseas.
Film Industry
Hong Kong is a major film production centre. During the year, it produced 92 films. Action films, romance and comedies were the main genres.
Going to the cinema is a popular leisure activity, with patrons being able to choose from a good variety of foreign and local films. In 2002, there were 61 cinemas (with 184 screens) compared with 62 cinemas (with 186 screens) in 2001. The box-office hits of the year included Infernal Affairs ($55.06 million), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ($38.26 million) and Spider-Man ($28.57 million).
Film Classification System
Hong Kong has a three-tier film classification system: Category I (suitable for all ages); Category II, which is subdivided into Category IIA (not suitable for children) and Category IIB (not suitable for young persons and children); and Category III (for persons aged 18 and above only). The objective is to allow adults wide access to films while protecting persons under the age of 18 from exposure to potentially harmful material.
Category IIA and IIB classifications are advisory (no statutory age restriction is imposed) and are intended to give more information to movie-goers, parents in particular, to help them select films for themselves or their children. Age restriction is mandatory for Category III films.
During the year, 1 944 films were submitted for classification, compared with 1 169 films in 2001. Of these, 1 110 were classified Category I (43 with excisions), 323 Category IIA (none with excisions), 369 Category IIB (13 with excisions), and 142 Category III (24 with excisions). Film trailers, instructional films and cultural films intended for public exhibition also require censorship but do not need to be classified into any category. During the year, 6 299 such items were approved for exhibition.
Film classification standards are kept in line with society's standards by regular surveys of community views and consultation with a statutory panel of advisers, comprising about 270 members drawn from a wide cross-section of the populace. A public opinion survey on the film classification system conducted in 2002 showed that the vast majority (97 per cent) of the public considered the current film classification standards acceptable.
Decisions on film classifications may be reviewed by the Board of Review (Film Censorship), a statutory body established under the Film Censorship Ordinance. The