ENG-1988 — Page 327

COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA

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The sub-division is also responsible for producing the Hong Kong News Digest, a fortnightly newspaper in Chinese which helps Hong Kong Chinese overseas to maintain contact with Hong Kong, and The Week in Hong Kong, a newsletter mainly on trade and economic matters distributed to overseas subscribers.

The departmental units sub-division co-ordinates the operation of the 27 information and public relations units in government departments. These units issue press releases, arrange press conferences and site visits and answer many media enquiries concerning the activities and aims of their respective departments. Through these efforts they play a major role in maintaining the flow of information and helping to improve relations with the public.

The overseas public relations sub-division (OPRS) assists in the government's publicity efforts overseas and produces and distributes promotional material, including feature articles and newsclips for radio and television. Assistance is provided for visiting journalists requiring information and interviews with government officers, and close liaison is maintained with news agencies and overseas journalists based in Hong Kong. This year, the unit assisted 284 overseas journalists and 42 other visitors, distributed 96 features, and produced 18 video items for television.

The Publicity Division embraces the creative, publishing and promotional resources of the department. Its ambit includes photography and film-making, an extensive photographic library, the staging of exhibitions, the design of books, leaflets and posters and the design and placement of all government advertising. GIS produces a wide variety of publications ranging from leaflets and fact sheets to the Hong Kong Annual Report and other full-colour books. Sales of government publications rose by 17.8 per cent to more than $31.8 million in 1988, compared with $27 million in 1987. The main emphasis of publishing activity continued to lie with information material for free distribution. During the year some 950 items totalling 11 803 000 copies were given out to the public. These included leaflets advising on procedures for obtaining a wide range of government services, together with fact sheets covering 58 topics, which are updated annually with the latest statistics.

The Publicity Division also plans and carries out all government publicity campaigns. The Crime Prevention, Road Safety, Civic Education, AIDS and Electoral Promotion programmes continued to be accorded status as major campaigns, along with the Clean Hong Kong campaign, Home Safety, Fire Prevention, Issue of New Identity Cards, Anti-Narcotics, Rehabilitation programmes, Industrial Safety and Easy Travel Scheme.

A campaign was also launched to promote public awareness of the enforcement of legislative measures for the control of water, air and noise pollution, and to instil a sense of responsibility among the public regarding the fight against pollution.

The News and Public Relation Division of the Hong Kong Government Office in London works closely with GIS to provide a press service on Hong Kong matters for the British media and for Hong Kong journalists based in the United Kingdom, and enquiry and information services for the public about events and developments in Hong Kong. It also organises a panel of speakers, made up at present of about 100 former senior government officers and businessmen who have retired to Britain.

The News Section monitors British parliamentary proceedings and media coverage of Hong Kong affairs, and keeps the Hong Kong Government informed on a daily basis by telex and facsimile transmission. It also publishes a fortnightly newsletter, 'Dateline Hong Kong', which is distributed among organisations and individuals with a close interest in Hong Kong. The Public Relations Section arranged a series of dinners in Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff to inform local community and business leaders of developments in Hong Kong since the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. A new multi-screen