27. 'Dramatized Folk Stories at Meridian' continued throughout the year and still has a large following. The programmes are heard from 12.30 p.m. to 1.00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The plots are selected from traditional Chinese literature and dramatized by local authors. Over a hundred original productions were broadcast during the year. The casts for these dramas are drawn from the large group of local professional and semi-professional radio actors whose performances, in general, compare favourably with any in the world. 'Dramatized Folk Stories at Meridian' appeal both to the older generations who were brought up on the stories as well as to younger people, who learn more of Chinese history in this way.
28. 'General Cook', a very popular serial based on the daily hap- pening in the life of a family and centred around this important member of it, continued up to the Chinese New Year 1965. By then over 500 programmes had taken place since the serial was begun in 1961, In addition to market prices and recipes 'General Cook' was frequently used as a vehicle for more general information of interest to the public; references were made to social health campaigns, etc., which were topical at the time, and in this way the public's attention was obliguely drawn to the desirability of cholera injections, anti-tuberculosis precautions and so on.
ENGLISH SERVICE
29. The planning of the English Service programmes is made com- plicated by wide variations in interests amongst the audience which it is seeking to satisfy. The largest part of this audience is comprised of English-speaking Chinese listeners whose interests lie mainly in pro- grammes of an educational, informative and cultural nature. The ex- patriate listener, on the other hand, appears to rely on radio mainly for news bulletins, weather information, international sport and similar, more specialized, types of programmes. The main difficulty in satisfying these different needs lies in achieving a balanced programme schedule within the limitation of one transmission.
STAFF
30. The establishment of the English Service consists of a Head of Programmes, 7 producers and 5 announcers. However, normal leave requirements and one resignation resulted in the Service operating below full complement for most of the year. This shortage of staff was
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