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COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA

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 acclaim both locally and internationally. During the year, RTHK produced further episodes of the drama epic, Miracle of the Orient, depicting the development of Hong Kong since the 1940s. RTHK productions have expanded with greater emphasis on education. Dial a Tutor is a programme to help students with their studies, Children's Newsreel helps in enhancing young people's interest in current affairs while Pre-school, a programme which educates and traces the development and cognitive process of infants under five years old, is targetted at both the pre-school children and their parents.

RTHK's Educational Television Section and the Education Department have continued their joint efforts in producing educational programmes for schools. The government's Educational Television Service, which utilises the transmission facilities of the commercial stations for eight hours each school day, is watched by around 600 000 children in 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

Because it provides the link between the administration and the media and, through the latter, with the people of Hong Kong, the work of the Government Information Services (GIS) inevitably reflected the continuing public concern with issues related to the future. Following the signing of the Sino-British Agreement at the close of 1984, attention focused upon the further development of representative government. The News and Public Relations Divisions of GIS once again bore the brunt of the increased pressure on the department's services.

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The News Division disseminates a multiplicity of government information through teleprinter and facsimile networks which are directly linked with leading newspapers, radio and television stations, and news agencies. The facsimile system enables GIS to transmit to the media both photographs and typed or printed messages, which is especially important for communicating in the Chinese language. Telex and international facsimile services enable government offices overseas to receive messages without delay and to communicate directly to the department and, through it, to the rest of the government. The News Division's 24-hour media enquiry service handles more than 20 000 questions every month. During an emergency such as a typhoon, the newsroom becomes a co-ordination centre to distribute up-to-date information to the media, particularly the radio and television stations, to keep the public informed of developments. Apart from this mobilisation of both manpower and equipment in the newsroom, other staff man various key positions within the government's organisation for managing emergencies, contributing to the minute by minute flow of information.

The Public Relations Division has three sub-divisions: media research, departmental units and overseas. The media research sub-division keeps the government fully informed of public opinion as expressed in the information media. It produces the Gist, a daily news sheet in English which summarises news and editorial comment in the major Chinese-