TNAG-1817-FCO40-2578-Broadcasting-in-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 155

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

Mr Paul J McGeady

General Counsel

Morality In Media Inc

475 Riverside Drive

NEW YORK

U.S.A.

NY 10115

Telephone 01-

Your reference

Our referencePTAAEZ

Date

16 June 1988

1

Dear Mr Mc Grady,

I have been asked to reply to your letter of 22 February to Her Majesty the Queen. I apologise for the delay in replying; we have been conducting inquiries in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Government are very conscious of the need to make proper arrangements for programme standards, taking into account the circumstances of Hong Kong. To this end they have established a Code of Practice relating to programme standards of television broadcasts, issued by the Broadcasting Authority under section 28 of the Television Ordinance in Hong Kong.

The basic principles of these programme standards are:-

(i)

ordinary good taste and common sense;

(ii) respect for the individual opinions of the public;

(iii) proper regard for the special needs of children, and

(iv) respect for the law and social insititutions.

The Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority, the executive arm of the Broadcasting Authority, operates the Television Home Viewing Group Scheme through which the prevailing community standards are obtained from 570 members of public coming from all walks of life. In addition independent survey firms are commissioned regularly to gauge public opinion on the standards of television programmes. On the particular video referred to in your letter, the position is that it was not approved by the office of the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing. As Mr Wang explained in his letter to you of 16 October 1987, it was screeneed without his prior approval having been sought due to an oversight on the part of the television