ENG-1983 — Page 268

COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA

199

All films intended for public 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 90 members of the public assists the film censors in reflecting the community views. During the year, 674 films were submitted for censorship (including films intended for cine-clubs and cultural organisations). Of the total number submitted, 490 were approved without excisions; 166 were approved after excisions and 18 were banned. These figures do not include films intended for television use.

Printing and Publishing

The international status of Hong Kong's printing industry has grown steadily in recent years, and expansion of the industry continued during 1983. There are now over 3 000 printing companies employing more than 30 000 people, and over 200 publishing houses. with a staff of more than 6 000.

The territory's electronics industry is contributing to the plant and equipment of not only the more sophisticated printing companies, but also to the publishers who are becoming increasingly involved in data and word processing systems for both their editorial production and stock control. The sales and marketing of data and word processors is now handled by more than 100 companies in Hong Kong, which offer over 200 systems, a considerable increase from previous years.

The use of computer-assisted photo composition is now widespread among Hong Kong printing companies and equipment has been developed to either convert or interface word processors with typesetters at realistic costs, further assuring publishers of speedy and efficient printing.

Several large Japanese companies have established colour separation and printing plants in Hong Kong. Many overseas publishers have set up offices or regional headquarters and produce numerous Chinese, English and bilingual magazines which are sold locally and overseas. The majority of exported publications – mainly books and pamphlets

go to Britain, Australia and the United States. Hong Kong does not manufacture paper and has to import all of its requirements.

Postal Services

1

―

Hong Kong has a reliable and efficient postal service. Two mail deliveries are generally provided each weekday in the urban and industrial areas and one delivery elsewhere in the territory. Despite the large volume of letters handled, the Post Office continued to achieve its target of delivering most local letter mail within 24 hours of posting.

―

During 1983, a total of 490 million letters and parcels – a daily average of 1.3 million were handled, representing a decrease of one per cent compared with 1982. Approximately 2 342 tonnes of letter mail and 3 277 tonnes of parcels were despatched abroad by air during the year, representing an overall increase of 7.1 per cent over the previous year.

The Speedpost service, a premium service introduced in 1973, continued to grow. It now extends to 23 postal administrations: Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Ireland, Japan, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, the Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States and West Germany. During the year, 555 332 items were handled representing an increase of 43.3 per cent over the preceding year. The number of Speedpost acceptance points has been increased to 15 post offices to provide customers with a better service.

The Intelpost service introduced in 1982 to the United Kingdom is now available to the United States, France and West Germany. It offers high speed facsimile transmission of