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An across-the-board restriction on all Category III film advertising materials is necessary to ensure that film posters, newspaper advertisement, or handbills and so on do not contain materials that are offensive to public morality and ordinary good taste.
"To cater for the situation where publicity materials for a film need to be prepared prior to obtaining a classification, the bill will introduce an arrangement whereby advertising materials of all films intended for exhibition can be submitted to TELA for vetting on a voluntary basis.'
Apart from imposing compulsory censorship on Category III film advertising materials, the spokesman said the existing classification of Category II would also be refined to form two sub-categories. This is made in response to the public wish for providing more information relating to individual films.
"The existing Category II will be split into sub-categories, namely: 'Not suitable for children below 12 and for which parental guidance is recommended' and 'Not suitable for persons below 18.
"Parents should find the refined film classification system of help in deciding what films they wish their children to watch," the spokesman said.
The opportunity will also be taken to make some minor amendments to the Film Censorship Ordinance to improve its operation.
The number of non-official members of the Board of Review will be increased from six to eight, and its terms of reference expanded correspondingly to cover the extended scope of the ordinance.
The spokesman added that a separate exercise was being undertaken to address the problem of easy access by young people to indecent articles, including indecent comic books.
The necessary legislative amendments to the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance will be introduced into the Legislative Council in the first quarter of this year.
End/Wednesday, January 4, 1995
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