this aim. It obviously cannot in fact do so; at least one, and possibly two more Chinese networks would be necessary to provide all listeners with a service which they would all regard as giving good satisfaction. As it is, the Cantonese listener gets a lot more for his annual $20 radio licence fee than his Kuoyu, Chiuchow or Hakka speaking compatriot.
13. Nevertheless, whilst the position is not wholly satisfactory, efforts were made during the year to make the balance between languages as fair as possible. Until November 1959, the distribution of languages throughout the day had been somewhat haphazard. A listener turning on his radio set at almost any time of day would be unsure whether he would hear a Cantonese programme, or a programme in one of the minority languages. In November a definite pattern was created so that, by and large, broadcasting time was divided into language blocs throughout the day. Cantonese remained the principal language with the lions share of the time, but regular periods each day were set aside for the minority language programmes, including some of the more popular peak listening periods.
14. This new pattern brought about a slight reduction in the amount of time devoted to Kuoyu listeners, and this produced immediate complaints from listeners and resulted in the reduced hours being restored.
15. The Service aims at a balanced output, although there is an increasing emphasis on its use as a medium of information and education, the latter in the widest sense. There are programmes of a strictly informative character, such
such as news bulletins and news magazines, and programmes which mix information with entertainment, such as the weekly Kaifong and Workers Playtime features.
16. Purely educational programmes include English by Radio, and the Air Doctor; and programmes which mix entertainment with education include dramatized stories and cultural features.
17. The Service is broadcast on 640 kc/s and 3940 kc/s, and is scheduled to use 94 mc/s when VHF/FM transmissions begin.
STAFF
18. Approval was given to increase the staff by two Programme Assistants. The year closed, however, without any suitable candidates to fill the posts being found, Mr. CHUNG Yan-loong and Mr. CHANG Han-piao were promoted from Class II to Class I of the Programme Assistant Grade.
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