ENG-1966 — Page 279

PRESS, BROADCASTING AND CINEMA

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starring Nancy Kwan and based on local legend. In addition, extensive coverage was shot for overseas newsreels, and on the occasion of the visit of Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret a 10-minute item was also shown in some 50 Hong Kong cinemas. A new half-hour documentary to replace the now dated 'This is Hong Kong' was produced.

The department's distribution section undertakes the distribution of all publicity material produced by the department; it also dis- tributes posters, literature and magazines received from Britain. The department's first mobile cinema continued in service and 82 travelling film shows were organized during the year for audiences numbering more than 563,000 in multiple locations.

At the end of the year there were 94 cinemas in Hong Kong. Films for public exhibition within Hong Kong are subject to cen- sorship in accordance with the law and must be viewed by the department's film censorship section, which has two theatres for this purpose. Films censored during the year totalled 2,820.

The Hong Kong Government Office in London is administra- tively part of the Commerce and Industry Department, but the information section works in close collaboration with the Informa- tion Services Department, on the distribution of whose photographic and editorial material its operation is based. Press relations form an important part of the work of the London Office, and releases for the British press are prepared from information bulletins sent daily from Hong Kong. Major news items, despatched by press cable, are processed immediately at the London Office and passed on to newspapers and news agencies. The information section also acts as a distributing agency in Britain for photo-features prepared by the Information Services Department and these, together with press releases, play a major role in the continuing effort to inform the British public about Hong Kong and its achievements through the medium of the newspaper and magazine press.

PUBLIC ENQUIRY SERVICE

The object of the Public Enquiry Service is to maintain a close link between the government and the people. Its primary business is to give the man in the street quick and clear guidance and explanation of the various services and functions performed by