ENG-2009 — Page 437

Communications, the Media and Information Technology | 365

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In recent years, newspapers and entertainment magazines have on many occasions published articles and photos that were subsequently ruled to be indecent worse. Members of the public have also expressed concern about the dissemination of obscene and indecent materials over the Internet. Steps were therefore undertaken to conduct a comprehensive review of the ordinance and the Government undertook to conduct two rounds of public consultation on the review. The first round of public consultation was completed in January 2009, followed by the publication of the consultation report in July 2009. Having considered carefully the public views collected in the first round of public consultation, the Government will prepare concrete proposals for in-depth and focused discussion in the second round consultation.

Postal Services

Hongkong Post provides a reliable, efficient and affordable service that meets changing needs and aspirations. A survey carried out in 2008 gave the postal service a customer satisfaction rating of 96 per cent.

Mail Volumes

A total of 1.32 billion postal items were handled in 2009, a 5.3 per cent fall compared to 2008. Local postal items made up 85 per cent of the total, while the remaining items were for overseas destinations, mostly for the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, the Mainland and Japan.

Speedpost

Capitalising on the partnership between Hongkong Post and China Post, an economical courier service, 'EC-Post' (e) for short, was introduced in 2009 to provide clients with a cost-effective means of sending packages weighing under two kilogrammes to Guangdong by post. This popular service has now been extended to Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Sichuan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Shandong and Tianjin.

In July 2009, Hongkong Post launched another express service, called 'Next Day Delivery' to serve areas in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City covered by key postcodes.

Promoting Philately

Eleven new sets of special stamps were issued in 2009 bearing commemorative themes such as the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China; the 23rd Asian International Stamp Exhibition, held in Hong Kong; completion of the Stonecutters Bridge, the East Asian Games, also held in Hong Kong; and football, a joint issue with Brazil Post.

Supporting Direct Marketing Activities

Hongkong Post also developed an electronic mechanism that enables customers to access its Circular Service, and collaborated with China Post to extend direct mailing service to Shenzhen and Dongguan, two cities experiencing strong business. growth and an increasing cross-boundary flow of people and services.