XN000022-1995-11-23 — Page 12

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Licence for satellite earth station approved

The Governor-in-Council has approved the grant of a licence, under the Telecommunication Ordinance, to Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), a company registered in Hong Kong for the establishment of radio stations on board a new satellite and of an earth station in Hong Kong to control and monitor it, a government spokesman announced today (Thursday).

AsiaSat has been licensed earlier on to operate a satellite, AsiaSat-2, which will be launched by the China Great Wall Industry Corporation from Xichang in China on around November 28, 1995.

This will be the company's second satellite network set up to provide telecommunications and television distribution services to countries and territories in the Asia Pacific region.

The licence approved by the Governor-in-Council is to enable the company to establish radio stations on board AsiaSat-2 and an earth station in Stanley for the control and monitoring of the satellite.

AsiaSat-2 is the third satellite operated by a Hong Kong company. The first two are AsiaSat-1 and APSTAR-I, which were launched in 1990 and 1994 respectively.

End/Thursday, November 23, 1995

Improved compensation for pneumoconiotics

The Government is proposing a number of improvements to the Pneumoconiosis Compensation Scheme for persons diagnosed after January 1, 1981 to be suffering from pneumoconiosis.

The proposed improvements to be made through the enactment of the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) (Amendment) Bill 1995 will include substantial improvements to both the compensation package and the assessment method of incapacity.