TNAG-1077-FCO40-1327-Broadcasting-in-Hong-Kong-proposed-BBC-relay-station-1981 — Page 51

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The following points concerning the BBC and Radio and Television Hong Kong may be worth bringing to the Foreign Secretary's notice in any draft hd minute prepared for his projected letter to the Governor of Hong Kong.

t Mr. Mashing uned

1.

2.

A Relay Station in Hong Kong would be served by satellite feeds from the

UK of World Service, Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese Services. These

feeds would be studio quality and would thus provide greatly enhanced the fue?

quality for the many BBC relays carried by RTHK. There would also be a saving in that RTHK would no longer have to pay for ad hoc satellite and radio feeds.

The installation of a Relay Station would be accompanied by a steady traffic of visiting senior BBC engineers whose experience could certainly be made available to RTHK, if required. There have been a number of BBC secondments to RTHK at senior managerial and engineering levels in recent years. These would, of course, be maintained and even increased if funds became available.

3. Construction of the station would create a small number of jobs over an

estimated two-year period.

4.

Once the station becomes operational there would, of course, be sizeable operational costs in terms of revenue payable to Hong Kong industries,

such as China Light and Power (Authority.)

5. RTHK benefits considerably at present from the wide range of BBC

Transcription Services programmes used. These programmes (for which they pay at a not unfavourable rate) represent a considerable saving to RTHK in that equivalent local programming would cost far more.

See 134

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Austen Kark

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Deputy Managing Director, External Broadcasting,

Mr. K. G. MacInnes,

Information Department,

Foreign and Commonwealth Office,

Great George Street,

LONDON SW1.