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Putonghua-Language Radio Programming in Hong Kong: RTHK and the Putonghua Audience

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Putonghua-Language Radio Programming in Hong Kong: RTHK and the Putonghua Audience Jeffrey S. Wilkinson Hong Kong Baptist University Chen Lu Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) Abstract: Three months before the People’s Republic of China regained control over Hong Kong, the government-sponsored media service Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) began offering Putonghua-language (Mandarin) program- ming. Since then, the channel has been broadcasting programs for three groups of people. These programs help Mainlanders assimilate to Hong Kong, help Can- tonese-speaking Hong Kong people learn the language of the Mainland, and provide a means for overseas Chinese in Hong Kong to be exposed to the mother tongue and learn about what is happening in Mainland China. This paper exam- ines the evolution of programming on RTHK through the first three years of operation. Putonghua Channel has experimented with various types of programs, using block programming/niche programming to meet the needs of RTHK’s varied audiences. RTHK’s Putonghua Channel is an example of govern- ment-sponsored public broadcasting that focused on language to deliver pro- gramming for the specific needs of specialized audiences. Résumé: Trois mois avant que la République populaire de Chine a repris le con- trôle de Hong Kong, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), radiodiffuseur com- mandité par le gouvernement, a commencé à offrir des programmes en langue mandarine. Depuis, le poste a diffusé ses programmes en vue de rejoindre trois groupes de personnes principaux. Ces programmes aident les Chinois continen- taux à s’assimiler au Hong Kong, les habitants de Hong Kong qui parlent canto- nais à apprendre le mandarin, et les Chinois d’outre-mer vivant à Hong Kong à apprendre leur langue maternelle et à se mettre au courant des actualités chi- noises. Cet article examine l’évolution de la programmation de RTHK au cours de ses trois premières années en ondes. Le poste mandarin a fait l’essai de diffé- rentes sortes d’émissions, utilisant la programmation en bloc et celle de créneau pour rencontrer les besoins de ses divers auditoires. Le canal mandarin de RTHK est un exemple d’un radiodiffuseur public commandité par le gouvernement qui met l’accent sur la langue pour présenter des émissions capables de rencontrer les besoins particuliers d’auditoires spécialisés. Jeffrey S. Wilkinson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University, 224 Waterloo Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR. At time of writing, Chen Lu was a Producer at Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). She is currently a Program Editor at Asia Plus Broadcasting Limited, Hong Kong. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Canadian Journal of Communication, Vol 26 (2001) 143-153 ©2001 Canadian Journal of Communication Corporation 143 144 Canadian Journal of Communication, Vol. 26 (1) On March 31, 1997, Hong Kong’s government-licensed radio broadcaster, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), launched a Putonghua (Mandarin) language channel. As control of Hong Kong was changing from Britain to China, this action — three months before the official ceremony—clearly signaled changes in the political, economic, and social structures. At one level, it heralded the changing perception and status of the Putonghua language in Hong Kong, from the tongue of the poor and uneducated to the language of power and government. From a public broadcasting perspective, it marked the launch of an experimental radio channel that needed to find its core audience. Critics claimed the changeover was politically motivated. RTHK management said it was an eco- nomic decision to take the lowest rated of their seven channels and meet the new demand for Putonghua-language programming in Hong Kong. The significance of this radio channel stems from how it has been used to change and unify an area that has long been separate from the rest of the country in terms of language, culture, income, and politics (Lee, 1991; Ma, 1999). The Putonghua channel has been and continues to be used to bridge the gap between the local Cantonese-speaking population and the Putonghua-speaking immigrants and government officials from mainland China. To better understand this process, three interrelated areas will be presented: first, the theoretical perspective noted by Huang (1993) that language reflects power and ideology; second, descriptions of the events, programming decisions, and practices that were carried out by Putonghua channel managers during the first three years of operation; and third, an explanation of how these events, decisions, and practices resulted in a public broadcaster identifying and serving the needs of its core audience. Language as power and ideology This radio channel owes its existence to the fact that language reflects power and ideology (Huang, 1993). Putonghua is one of the four primary influences on Hong Kong’s culture (Lee, 1991), but for a number of years leading up to 1997, Puton- ghua had been viewed by Hong Kong people as the language of the lower class, the poor, and the uneducated (Ma, 1999). This highlighted the significance of the hand-over ceremony on July 1st, 1997, because it was conducted in both English and Putonghua—but not Cantonese. The swearing-in ceremony of the judges, the legal council, and the executive council was conducted solely in Putonghua. This was a clear signal of the changing status of Putonghua to the Cantonese-speaking people. As noted by Fisherman (1972), the more people who use a type of speech and their visibility in a society, the better chance this speech variety has of becoming the official language. Conversely, a speech variety spoken by a minority leads to perceptions of inferior social status and is referred to as “language condescen- sion” (Huang, 1993, p. 156). Language condescension can be observed, for example, by the degree to which people are willing to learn each other’s language. In the Chief Executive’s Policy Address of 1998, Tung Chee Hwa noted that Hong Kong’s language policy—“two written languages, and three oral languages”—encourages local citizens to be able to write in English and Chinese, Wilkinson & Lu / Putonghua-Language Radio Programming in Hong Kong 145 and speak English, Cantonese, and Putonghua. Hong Kong’s Assistant Director of Education, Leung Yat Ming, noted that by “studying … the common language of races [in China], students will have a growing feeling of identification with Chinese culture and belonging to our nation country” (Leung, 1997, p. 1). The People’s Republic of China has promoted Putonghua throughout the various provinces in order to remove barriers caused by dialectical differences (Beijing Languages Institute, 1995). This goal to unite the various peoples and “bring about a further political, cultural, and economic development” applies to Hong Kong’s pluralistic society as well (p. 57). Therefore, the impetus to promote Putonghua comes from three linked ideas: (1) Putonghua is the official language of China, (2) Hong Kong has an interdependent relationship with China, and (3) the local culture of Hong Kong is Chinese culture. Both Putonghua and Cantonese use the same written characters, but differ in the pronunciation of the characters (Beijing Languages Institute, 1995). For example, one can communicate with another fairly easily through written notes, suggesting that the languages are similar enough that learning the other can be accomplished with minimal training. The Hong Kong government now endorses Putonghua courses for civil servants, of which 6,000 attended in 1996 and 7,000 in 1997. The two largest groups of Hong Kong residents formally learning Puton- ghua are civil servants and students. The biggest private Putonghua school, Hong Kong Society, reported that 20,000 people have taken courses annually since 1992 (Y. F. Wong, personal communication, February 3, 1999). Many Hong Kong people now view Putonghua as a practical skill to enhance job opportunities. Public broadcasting Radio has been used as a tool “for nation building and the development of a common … culture” (Taylor, 1995-96, p. 183). In Europe, for example, radio is widely acknowledged as being chiefly a cultural medium (Kemppainen, 1998). As the only Hong Kong radio channel broadcasting in Putonghua, RTHK fills a unique space in the Hong Kong cultural landscape by discussing local issues through the “non-local” language. This is where RTHK is able to fulfill the tradi- tional role of a public broadcasting operator, to serve those “left behind by com- mercial stations” (Kosof, 1993, p. 170). RTHK documents support this view that “the station’s overriding responsibility is to provide radio and television services that are distinctive and of high quality, and that are or might be at risk in the com- mercially funded sector of the market” (Radio Television Hong Kong, 1998, p. 6). As the sole provider of exclusively Putonghua-language radio, RTHK fills this niche. Languages of Hong Kong broadcast media Television The most popular television programs in Hong Kong are broadcast on Can- tonese-language channels TVB and ATV. Both also offer English language chan- nels that are increasingly mixing in Putonghua programming. Furthermore, 146 Canadian Journal of Communication, Vol. 26 (1) Chinese Television Network and Chinese Entertainment Channel produce pro- grams in Putonghua, but they are broadcast outside of Hong Kong. The signals of CCTV (China Central TV), TV Shenzhen, TV Guangdong, and TV Zhuhai can also be received in small areas of the New Territory of Hong Kong (Chan & Ma, 1996), but are functionally outside the Hong Kong television market. Radio Three broadcast companies (RTHK, Commercial Radio, Metro Broadcast) control the 13 radio channels licensed by the Broadcasting Authority (Howlett, 1998). RTHK operates seven channels, and the others operate three each. Besides Putonghua channel, eight of the channels are either entirely or partially Can- tonese, with the rest being offered in English.
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