ENG-1978 — Page 249

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THE MEDIA

sphere of the government. It does this through a private national teleprinter network direct to newspapers, magazines and radio newsrooms; through in-depth news releases sent by mail; and through personal contact with journalists.

In 1978, the Information Section was responsible for the planning, at the United Kingdom end, of the tour by the Royal Hong Kong Police Force Band and an accom- panying group of dancers, which included appearances at the Royal Tournament in London and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Film Industry

Following the trend in recent years, the number of cinemas in Hong Kong again declined and at the end of 1978 there were 75 cinemas in operation. A contributing factor to the gradual decline is the scarcity of land in urban areas which has prompted property developers to demolish older cinemas to make way for more profitable multi-purpose high-rise buildings. The government is currently planning to introduce new regulations which will enable smaller cinemas to be established in multi-storey buildings.

Cinema-going continued to be a major leisure activity in Hong Kong during the year. Per capita cinema attendances, which are among the highest in the world, in- creased totalling 65 million, compared with 60 million in 1977. The top-grossing films of 1978 included The Contract, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Follow the Star, Grease, and Drunk Monkey in the Tiger's Eye.

Hong Kong is also an important international film-producing centre. During the year, Hong Kong-based companies produced more than 130 films in Mandarin, Can- tonese and English and many were distributed to markets throughout the world.

All films intended for public exhibition in Hong Kong must be submitted to the Film Censorship Authority. Censorship standards are drawn from ascertained com- munity views and, during the year, 92 members of the public joined a public advisory group to assist the Panel of Film Censors in reflecting the community's views on levels of acceptability in film entertainment.

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