ENG-1984 — Page 311

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COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA

five-minute news bulletins with captions continued to be broadcast on both commercial stations.

Television Home Viewing Groups appointed by the TELA have been in operation since 1982 in each of Hong Kong's 18 districts. The scheme was set up with the assistance of district offices and membership of the groups has been expanded to 500. They provide the authority with a continuing flow of public opinion on television programming and advertising across a broad spectrum of the population. To keep the authority and members of the Television Advisory Board in closer contact with these groups, Regional Advisory Panels one each for Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, with representative members drawn from each group - were established in 1983.

In February 1984, the Governor in Council set up the Hong Kong Broadcasting Review Board to conduct an overall review of television and radio broadcasting in Hong Kong, and also the long-term needs of the population after 1988, when the licences of the two television stations are due to expire. The review covers subjects ranging from the needs of Hong Kong, the role of government, commercial television and radio, advertising control, the handling of complaints, censorship and monitoring requirements, technical develop- ments and tender procedures for broadcasting licences. The board is expected to submit its recommendations to the Governor in Council in mid-1985.

Radio Television Hong Kong, which uses the transmission services of the two com- mercial stations, produced over 13 hours of public affairs programme each week including the highly acclaimed dramas On the Beat and Places and Faces, while Commonsense and Police Call, in their eighth and ninth year respectively, were still among the top programmes.

Policy guidelines for RTHK require its programmes to provide a communicating channel between the government and the public which promotes civic responsibility and identity, serves minority interests, and educates and informs. Material produced falls basically into five areas of interest: current affairs, drama, information and community service, variety and games shows, and programmes for children and young people.

RTHK productions are generally popular and have won international awards for their high standards. During the year, RTHK produced a drama epic depicting the development of Hong Kong since the 1940s.

In addition to its major function as a source of entertainment, television plays an important role in education. The Government Educational Television Service (ETV), which utilises the transmission facilities of the commercial stations for eight hours each school day, is watched by 600 000 children in both primary and secondary schools. The programmes are devised and written by specialist Education Department staff, who provide schools with programme literature and follow-up work. The programmes are produced by RTHK and are made in colour using film animation, drama and documentary techniques.

Government Information Services

The Government Information Services (GIS) provides the link between the government and the information media and, through the latter, with the people of Hong Kong. Since both the media and the public were preoccupied with the question of Hong Kong's future, particularly in the months leading up to the initialling of the draft agreement in Peking, on September 26, this topic inevitably dominated the department's workload during 1984. The News and Public Relations Divisions took the brunt of this increased pressure on the department's services and underwent further restructuring to cope with the demand.