HONG KONG
ANNUAL DEPARTMENTAL REPORT
BY THE
DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SERVICES
N. J. V. WATT, O.B.E., J.P.
FOR THE
FINANCIAL YEAR 1968 - 69*
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY S. YOUNG, GOVERNMENT PRINTER
AT THE GOVERNMENT PRESS, JAVA ROAD, HONG KONG
* 1st April 1968 - 31st March 1969
%
EXCHANGE RATES
When dollars are quoted in this Report, they are, unless otherwise stated, Hong Kong dollars. The official rate for conversion to pounds sterling is HK$14.54=£1 (HK$1=1s. 44d.). The official rate for conversion to U.S. dollars is HK$6.06=US$1 (based on £1-US$2.40).
69169-10K-7/69
GENERAL.
NEWS DIVISION
CONTENTS
Press Room .
Radio News Room
POLICE PUBLIC INFORMATION BUREAU
PUBLICITY DIVISION
Editorial Section
Design and Display Section.
Publications.
Photographs
Film Unit
PUBLIC RELATIONS DIVISION
LIBRARY
•
•
OSAKA EXPOSITION
.
TELEVISION AUTHORITY
FILM CENSORSHIP
·
LONDON OFFICE INFORMATION SECTION.
STAFF
Paragraphs
1
2 - 3
4 - 8
9 - 10
11 14
-
15 - 17
18 - 20
21 - 25
26
27
28
•
29 - 30
31 - 34
35 - 39
40 - 41
42 - 46
47
EX
49
50 - 52
53
:4
THE department is organized in three Divisions--News, Publicity and Public Relations with certain services common to all three.
NEWS DIVISION
2. The News Division offers a service of information to local and overseas press, radio and television, with the aim of encouraging com- munication between government departments and the public through the mass information media.
3. A radio news room prepares world and local news bulletins for local broadcasting and television services.
Press Room
4. The Daily Information Bulletin gives factual information in English and Chinese on official policy and public projects as well as routine notices and statistics. The bulletin is distributed to more than 100 newspapers, agencies, and broadcasting stations.
5. The bulletin is supplemented by a teleprinter service which is particularly useful for agencies and newspapers with urgent deadlines. This service is not restricted to official announcements but also alerts news editors to fires and other incidents. There are 63 subscribers to the teleprinter service.
6. Questions from newspaper reporters, sometimes as many as 100 a day, and covering every aspect of government activity, represent another important channel of communication and enquiry desks are manned night and day.
7. Personal interviews at which journalists discuss matters of public interest with responsible senior government officers are arranged almost every day and press conferences to explain major projects are held frequently.
8. Summaries of comment, news and letters in the Chinese press are prepared daily for the information of senior civil servants.
1
Radio News Room
9. Bulletins on world and local events are produced for broadcast by Radio Hong Kong, Commercial Radio, Rediffusion and Rediffusion Television. The main sources are two international news agencies, official releases and direct staff coverage of local events.
10. The radio news room moved to Broadcasting House on 2nd March, 1969 to be near its customers in 'Radio City', Kowloon. It remains under the supervision of the News Division and is in constant contact with Beaconsfield House through teleprinter, facsimile, and telephone links.
POLICE PUBLIC INFORMATION BUREAU
11. Two senior information officers from I.S.D. are seconded to the bureau whose role is to supply information to the various news media and foster good relations with the public at all levels.
12. The bureau co-ordinates all Force publicity. Campaigns last year dealt with crime prevention, road safety and police recruitment for which posters and leaflets were produced for the Force by the Information Services Department.
13. The bureau participated in the programme under which some 10,000 school children visited police stations throughout the year.
14. During the year the P.P.I.B. also arranged television and radio programmes covering various aspects of Police work.
PUBLICITY DIVISION
15. The preparation for local and overseas distribution of visual publicity material-pictorial, photographic and documentary and the design of exhibition and window displays has gathered momentum again following the interruptions of 1967 when some staff were diverted to urgent local problems.
16. The extent to which Hong Kong is known and understood abroad depends to a large extent on the day to day reporting of the scores of foreign reporters and broadcasters who reside here and repre- sent the major world news organizations. This coverage, however, de- pends on news value in a very immediate sense. The publicity division aims to supplement this overseas knowledge of Hong Kong with a steady
2
service of illustrated feature material on the life and achievements of the people of the Colony and ample reference material for background information.
17. The events of 1967 also increased awareness of the need for a greater publicity effort at home and the resources of the division have been enlisted to produce material.
Editorial Section
18. The editorial section produces newspaper and magazine feature articles for all parts of the world. Over the year 45 features were sent out through ten agencies.
19. The monthly newspaper, The World of Hong Kong, which aims at informing people overseas of life and developments in the Colony, now has a circulation of 20,000.
20. The editorial section is frequently asked by leading magazines and newspapers abroad to contribute material for special supplements on Hong Kong. This year, supplements were published in the London Times, the East African Standard and the Financial Times, among others.
Design and Display Section
21. The design and display section creates publicity material for government departments and other professional and voluntary agencies dealing with health, hygiene and safety campaigns, as well as advertis- ing local public events and entertainments. Thirty-six leaflets were designed with a print run of 6,260,000, and 36 posters with a print run of 210,000.
22. Window displays were designed for the City District Offices, the Government Publications Centre and the department's display win- dow. A programme for changing the City District Offices' windows on a monthly basis is now in operation.
23. The section designed a display for the 14th Conference on Social Welfare in Helsinki, Finland, a display for the Action Committee Against Narcotics (ACAN) at the 4th Pan Pacific Conference on Rehabilitation, and a pavilion for ACAN, and a display for the Trade Development Council and the Department of Commerce and Industry at the annual exhibition of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association.
3
24. Advertisements are designed for the local press and for overseas newspaper supplements, which included this year the London Times, the Financial Times, the Economist and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Distribution
25. Planned and effective distribution is recognized as an integral part of publicity. The distribution section handles films and publications produced in the department and also material from the British Central Office of Information. It is also responsible for the operation of a mobile cinema which takes entertainment and information films to resettlement estates and villages, schools, local clubs and associations.
Publications
26. The Colony's annual report, Hong Kong 1968, was again the major item on the programme, with a print order of 21,500. This year a Chinese version of the report's review chapter was published separately. The 'photo-essays' which form the colour illustrations of the book were also made available separately as publicity material.
27. Other publications this year covered such diverse subjects as the treatment of drug dependence, auxiliary police recruiting, the new Plover Cove reservoir, and there were several designed to give essential information to tourists and visiting businessmen.
Photographs
28. Departmental photographers provide the illustrations for all government publications, for official press releases and for the stock of prints and colour transparencies which are available to the press. They are also now meeting a growing demand for large scale prints for exhibition purposes.
Film Unit
29. The monthly news magazine-Hong Kong Today-changed to colour production during the year and is now distributed regularly to 25 cinemas. The film is also shown by both television stations and to Chinese communities overseas. A three-minute colour film also captured the Lunar New Year atmosphere for local and overseas Chinese audiences.
30. Other work during the year included two five-minute black-and- white films for the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, illustrating modern methods of cultivation to be shown in the villages of the New
4
Territories. A one-hour black-and-white training film for the Police Force is still under production. A 10-minute film which deals with the rehabilitation of drug addicts at Tai Lam Chung will be distributed to World Health Organization agencies and used for training by the Prisons Department.
PUBLIC RELATIONS DIVISION
31. The need for an active and positive programme of public rela- tions is recognized by the formation of this new Division. Its special responsibilities are to maintain contact with Hong Kong people living overseas, especially those living in Britain, and at home to improve understanding between the public and the government by all possible public relations methods.
32. Its task has been envisaged as essentially two way: ascertaining and passing on to government, public attitudes expressed in the informa- tion media and using the same media to inform and explain. The Division maintains a specially close contact with those departments of government which are themselves in daily contact with the public on a large scale the Resettlement Department and the City District Offices for example. The aim is, above all, to anticipate possible cases of mis- understanding and to seize opportunities for the improvement of under- standing. Particular attention is being paid to letters in the Chinese language press and departments are assisted, if necessary, with replies to this correspondence.
33. The Division is continuing the publication, initiated in 1967, of a special Chinese newspaper for Hong Kong residents abroad-Hong Kong News Digest-consisting largely of extracts from the local press. The paper has now been increased in size and in the variety of its contents. The Division has also initiated or assisted the provision of film and sound-tape information and entertainment for Hong Kong people living in Britain.
34. The new Division has taken over the responsibility for the preparation of a series of leaflets which explain government services and procedure to the public.
LIBRARY
35. The library has a reference section and photographic collection available to local and visiting journalists and Hong Kong firms and organizations as well as departmental staff.
5
36. The comprehensive reference section contains more than 2,000 books and up-to-date files of 50 periodicals. A running record of events in Hong Kong is maintained in press clipping files.
37. The book stock, constantly renewed with the latest reference works and books on Hong Kong affairs is classified under the Dewey decimal system while other files are organized under subject headings.
38. More than 10,000 black and white prints on 1,200 different Hong Kong subjects are kept available for immediate use in the library which also maintains a stock of approximately 500 colour transpar- encies. Photographs by departmental photographers are issued for local press release and overseas features and to overseas correspondents, publishers, local firms and other government departments.
39. A major re-organization of all library facilities was begun to- wards the end of the year to make them even more accessible.
OSAKA EXPOSITION
40. Considerable progress has been made in the final preparations for the Hong Kong Government Pavilion at Expo '70. Construction started on the site in January, 1969. During the year, the programme of events was completed. The daily programme will include demonstra- tions by craftsmen working on jade, jewellery and ivory, and per- formances by traditional dancers, lion dancers and a 'pop' group. The designs for the interior were completed and approved, and Hong Kong's participation in Expo '70 received more and more attention in the local press and on radio and television.
41. The government exhibited for the second time at the 1968 C.M.A. Exhibition. On this occasion, nearly 1 million people visited the Government Pavilion where the emphasis was placed on govern- ment's plans for the future of the people living in Hong Kong. The pavilion was judged as the fifth best at the exhibition.
TELEVISION AUTHORITY
42. The Television Ordinance provides for the appointment of a Television Authority and a Television Advisory Board. The Authority's function is to secure proper standards of programme content and technical efficiency in wireless television and generally to administer the provisions of the Ordinance.
6
43. The Television Advisory Board's role is to advise the Authority in the exercise of its function; to submit proposals and recommendations to the Governor-in-Council or the Television Authority; and to publish reports on the progress of television.
44. The Board consists of three public officers and two members of the public.
45. A small secretariat within the Information Services Department enables the Director of Information Services to carry out his statutory functions as the Television Authority.
46. Live and pre-recorded programme material is monitored and a local private company monitors advertising material on behalf of the Authority to ensure that the provisions of the Ordinance are maintained.
FILM CENSORSHIP
47
Films for public exhibition in Hong Kong are subject to censor- ship under the Film Censorship Regulations.
48. The Panel of Censors saw 5,371 films during the year compared with 5,925 the year before. Details are given in the Appendix to this report.
49. At the end of the year, there were 104 cinemas in the Colony. Eighty-three feature films were produced in local studios during the year.
LONDON OFFICE INFORMATION SECTION
50. This office continues to play an important part in public rela- tions directed towards Hong Kong Chinese residents in Britain. It is responsible for the distribution end of the information service initiated by the public relations division in Hong Kong. The distribution arrange- ments for Hong Kong News Digest, for example, are such that with the circulation of 14,000 a week, it is estimated that the newspaper is seen each week by every literate adult member of the Hong Kong Chinese community in Britain. The London Information Section has also commissioned commercial services to distribute radio programmes taped in Hong Kong and film programmes which combine entertain- ment with news and documentary material.
51. These new and important tasks have not diminished the London Information Section's normal public relations programme on behalf of
7
Hong Kong in Britain. These activities are co-ordinated by the 'Hong Kong Public Relations Advisory Committee' which meets under the Chairmanship of the Director of the Hong Kong Government Office in London and includes representatives of the Hong Kong Trade Develop- ment Council, the Hong Kong Students' Office/Chinese Liaison Office, the Hong Kong Association, the Hong Kong Section of the London Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Kong Tourist Association, the News Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British National Export Council, the Committee of Shipowners Employing Chinese Crews, and Messrs. Campbell Johnson Ltd.
52. The London Office serves as an important distribution centre for publications and other information material supplied from Hong Kong. At the same time, the office keeps Hong Kong in touch with events of special interest in Britain by programmes such as its Parliamentary Information Service. The window of the Government Office at 54, Pall Mall is exploited for frequent displays demonstrating Hong Kong's social progress and the London Information Section also collaborated closely in the construction of the new Hong Kong Exhibit at the Com- monwealth Institute which was opened by H.E. the Governor during the year.
STAFF
53. The Director of Information Services, Mr. N. J. V. WATT attended the Second Conference of Commissioners General of Expo '70 in Tokyo, Japan, from 10th to 16th November, 1968. Mr. M. A. B. STEVENSON, Deputy Director, was on vacation leave from 30th May, 1968 to 23rd December, 1968. During his vacation, Mr. STEVENSON held a Visiting Fellowship at Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford. He acted as Director when Mr. WATT went to Osaka in February, 1969 for the ground breaking ceremony of the Hong Kong Pavilion. Mr. D. N. WILLIS, Chief Press Officer, ceased to act as Deputy Director on 5th March, 1969.
May, 1969.
N. J. V. WATT,
Director of Information Services.
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APPENDIX I
THE PRESS
Sixty-seven Chinese language dailies and four English language dailies, cover- ing most shades of political opinion, were published at the end of the year. These have an estimated combined circulation well in excess of 1.5 million copies. The Chinese daily press includes 50 morning and 17 afternoon newspapers. There are two morning and two English language afternoon newspapers.
Newspapers published in the Colony must be registered with the Secretariat for Home Affairs. At the end of the year, 147 publications were registered. The fee is $100 a year. The applicant must also deposit $10,000 as surety or provide two acceptable guarantors in this sum. This deposit is a form of protec- tion for the public to ensure payment of fines, damages or costs of a libel action in which a newspaper or publication may become involved.
Hong Kong continues to be a base for the Far East operations of all the important news agencies and many international magazines, newspapers, and broadcasting networks.
Both Chinese and English-language newspapers are represented on the News- paper Society of Hong Kong, which has 18 members and three associated Members.
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APPENDIX II
FILMS CENSORED DURING THE PERIOD 1.4.68 TO 31.3.69
BOARD OF REVIEW
PANEL OF CENSORS
Total
Sub-
Passed Clean
Passed with
mitted
Cuts
Not Total Passed Passed Appeals Clean
Passed with Cuts
Not
Passed
FEATURE FILMS (35 mm):
France
Argentina
China Mainland
Demark
Danish-Swedish
Franco-Italian
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong (Cantonese)
1
1
4
3
1
14
•
15
Franco-Germany-Italian
1
2
83
ا حيرامة 1 -3
1
5
1
3
1 2
1
10
India
Hong Kong (Mandarin)
Hong Kong (Miscellaneous)
Italo-French
72
58*
14
4†
1
1
26
25
1
1
Italo-German
2
Italo-Spanish
Italy...
Japan Korea
7
6
1
•
74
57
12
P
85
48
28
in a
1
5
4
9
3
1
1
Pakistan
10
South Korea
1
2-
2
12-
Spain
1
Sweden
1
3
2
1
1
Switzerland...
1
1
Taiwan
56
45
11
11
United Kingdom
46
31
10
5
5
4
U.K.-French
1
1
U.S.A.
168
139
21
8
6+
2
2
West Germany
12
5
3
4
3
2
West Germany-U.S.A.
FEATURE FILMS (16 mm):
1
1
693
5321
125
36
368
3
14
17
U.S.A.
1
1
SHORTS:
Hong Kong
10
10
India
1
1
Japan
5
3
Taiwan
1
1
United Kingdom
11
11
U.S.A.
10
10
38
36
2
NEWSREELS:
United Kingdom
3
3
16 mm films
35 mm films
TELEVISION (Rediffusion):
TELEVISION (Broadcasts):
1,952
1,942
6
4
1
1||
1
1
16 mm films
1.998
1,994
3
35 mm films
38
38
川
3,989
3,975
7
7
1
ADVERTISING FILMS
647
641
6
TOTAL
5.371
5,188
138
45
378
4
14
ריי
17
* One film passed subject to conditions by Panel of Censors. † One film pending decision by Board of Review.
Two films passed subject to conditions by Panel of Censors.
§ Two films pending decision by Board of Review.
One film passed subject to conditions by Board of Review.
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Price: $1,50