the transmitter building finished, and the transmitters themselves in an advanced stage of installation.
7. Accommodation in the studio centre in Mercury House had, as reported last year, become a serious problem. As a temporary remedy, until a new building can be provided to house the Department, extensive alterations were carried out to relieve pressure on office space and to make a more equitable distribution of the space available. The seventh floor was practically gutted, part of a studio was turned into offices and record libraries, and listening rooms and offices were completely re- designed. The effect has been beneficial, although it has created a rather warren-like building.
8. New studios in the West Wing of the Central Government Offices, scheduled to be brought into operation at the end of 1959, were not completed by the end of the financial year owing to sound insulation problems. This set back plans to improve the quality of the news bulletins, which are compiled in the radio newsroom of the Information Services Department.
9. Whilst there were a number of new programmes produced during the year, progress in improving both quality and quantity of pro- grammes was hampered by an inability to recruit new staff until proposals laid before the Salaries Commission made it possible to offer better salaries to attract qualified programme staff.
10. This report of the year's work from April 1959 to March 1960, is dealt with under four main headings: Chinese Programme Service, English Programme Service, Technical Services, Administration.
PART II
CHINESE PROGRAMME SERVICE
GENERAL
11. The mother tongue of the majority of Hong Kong people is Cantonese; there are however, sizeable groups speaking other Chinese languages, particularly Kuoyu, Chiuchow, Hakka and the Shanghai dialect.
12. The Chinese Service aims to provide a balanced service of entertainment, education and information for Chinese listeners of all groups and tastes, and it is, within the limitations of a seventeen-hour broadcasting day, obviously faced with a difficult task if it is to achieve
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