ENG-1947 — Page 162

people had gone on leave after internment and had not returned. But the year 1947 has seen the return of much local talent, and this, together with the receipt of many B.B.C. Transcription Service records, has done much to raise the quality of the broadcasting productions. It has also been possible on this account to make a slight increase in the hours of broadcasting. Some difficulty was experienced during the year in maintaining adequate supplies of Chinese gramophone records on account of the disruption of production during the war, but there is reason to hope that the situation will improve gradually during the next few months. News bulletins are issued at lunch time on the short-wave transmitters in English and the Cantonese, Mandarin and Swatow dialects. In the evening the station relays the B.B.C. news in Cantonese and the English news and News Summary in the overseas service. Use has also been made of United Nations relays but this has been limited on account of the unsatisfactory reception. Plans are being laid for the extensive use of the broadcasting station as a medium for education.

Telephones.

An automatic public telephone service is provided by the Hong Kong Telephone Co. Ltd. In 1941 the company was serving 14,000 lines on Hong Kong Island and 5,100 on the mainland, as well as a system of 500 government and military lines on separate automatic exchange. The company's equipment suffered neglect and under-maintenance during the Japanese occupation and a large amount of moveable stores and equipment was lost but every effort was made during 1946 to cope with the ever increasing demand for telephone services. Altogether, by the end of 1947, some 15,000 exchange lines had been put into service and 110 private branch exchanges of all sizes installed. Nevertheless, it is still not possible to supply service on demand, as replacements for out-worn equipment are subject to considerable delays in delivery. These difficulties have, for the time being, prevented the planned expansion of the service to 28,000 lines. The Peak Exchange and exchanges at Tsun Wan, Fanling and Taipo which were destroyed in 1941, are being rebuilt and a 12-storey building is to be erected in Kowloon during 1948 for the purpose of housing an additional exchange to cover future development on the mainland and to provide accommodation for the company's staff. During the year under review radio-telephone services between Hong Kong, Manila and Canton were re-opened. The cost of service which had risen in 1946 to 50% above 1941 rates, was maintained at that figure in spite of the continuing general rise in the cost of materials and operation throughout the year 1947.

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