ENG-1981 — Page 257

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THE MEDIA

right note, can also make enormous profits for its producers. Examples were Security Unlimited which in 37 days grossed over $17.7 million and Chasing Girls which in 20 days grossed over $9.4 million.

In the local film production industry, the trend to produce films in Cantonese rather than in Mandarin continued. In terms of themes, there were few social dramas, the accent being mainly on 'action' films and comedies. Kung-fu films have also made a comeback and are much better produced now than they were at the beginning of the 70s.

All films intended for exhibition in Hong Kong must be submitted to the Panel of Film Censors, which is part of the TELA. Censorship standards are drawn from ascertained community views and a panel comprising about 150 members of the public assists the Panel of Film Censors in reflecting the community views. During the year 687 films were submitted for censorship (including films intended for cine-clubs and cultural organisa- tions). Of the total number submitted, 432 were approved without excisions; 243 were approved after excisions and 12 were totally banned.

Printing and Publishing

Hong Kong's printing industry is expanding rapidly and exporting more each year. At the same time, another of the territory's major industries - that of electronics - is contributing to the plant and equipment of not only the more sophisticated printing companies, but also to the publishers who are becoming more involved in data and word processing systems for both their editorial production and stock control.

There are more than 2 600 printing companies employing over 27 000 people, over 200 publishing houses with a staff of more than 6 000, and there are also more than 600 advertising agencies employing a total staff of some 4 000 people.

The sales and marketing of data and word processors is handled by more than 30 companies in Hong Kong, which offer over 40 systems.

With computer-assisted photo composition now well established in many Hong Kong printing companies, the development of equipment to either convert or interface word processors with typesetters at realistic costs has taken place in a number of companies for the purpose of bridging the gap between printers and publishers. The use of optical character recognition equipment has recently started in Hong Kong and should further improve the performance of local companies.

Electronics are also fully employed in colour separation equipment to control the colour density of each separated film; to control the ink flow and paper feed on larger printing machines; in finishing operations to detect faulty sheets on folding machines; to rapidly count sheets of stacked paper; and to determine the cutting programmes on computer- controlled guillotines.

A number of large Japanese companies have established colour separation and printing plants in Hong Kong. Publishers from Europe and America produce numerous English, Chinese and bi-lingual magazines, and a substantial number of text books, which are sold locally and overseas, with the majority of exports going to Britain, Australia and the United States.

Hong Kong does not manufacture its own paper and has to import all of its require- ments, with about 200 000 tonnes being imported annually – 100 000 tonnes of which are exported as finished publications.

The Hong Kong Telephone Company made available to the public its news service Viewdata based on static displays on television screens. The service, which operates in the same way as Prestel in many Western countries, is new to this part of Asia.