Radio Taiwan International, which formerly was used to broadcast government
propaganda aimed at China, is to offer programs in five foreign languages
By Ko Shu-ling

Thursday, Feb 10, 2005

"With the increasing number of international marriages, what we're doing now
is broadcasting not only to foreigners working or living here but also to
the future children of Taiwan."

National radio station Radio Taiwan International (RTI) is poised to enter a
new era on July 1 when it starts domestic broadcasting in five foreign
languages to the nation's 500,000 foreign workers and residents.

Over the course of 77 years, RTI has transformed itself from a government
propaganda radio station targeting China and the world, to a public service
station serving both local and international communities alike.

While some might question the popularity of radio stations in a multimedia
age, Cheryl Lai, president of RTI, seemed upbeat about the future of the
airwaves industry.

"There are three English-language newspapers in Taiwan but their target
audiences are either white-collar office workers or intellectuals," she
said. "We're more concerned about the blue-collar audiences, especially
foreign workers and spouses, who have a hard time understanding Mandarin and
some of them cannot even afford computers or Internet access," she said.

Lai added that foreign-language radio programs also provide foreigners with
access to instant and immediate information, which can be quite useful,
especially when natural disasters hit.

"With the increasing number of international marriages, what we're doing now
is broadcasting not only to foreigners working or living here but also to
the future children of Taiwan," she said.

Established in 1928 in Nanking, China, under the name the Central
Broadcasting System, RTI was relocated to Taiwan after the Nationalist Party
lost the civil war to the Communists in 1949.

In January 1998, the station was restructured to become a non-profit
organization, and its services were expanded.

Currently, it has nine branch stations scattered island-wide. Its
broadcasting area covers central and southern Taiwan, China and the rest of
the world.

It broadcasts daily in 18 languages, including Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka,
Cantonese, Tibetan, Mongolian, English, German, French, Russian, Spanish,
Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian and Burmese.

From July 1, it will start broadcasting in five foreign languages aimed at
local audiences nationwide and foreign communities, taking into account the
increasing number of foreign workers and spouses. The five languages are
English, Japanese, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Thai.

Statistics show that there were about 330,000 foreign spouses and 310,000
foreign workers in Taiwan as of December last year. Of the foreign husbands,
Thais are the most numerous, accounting for 34 percent of the total,
followed by Japanese, at 12 percent, and Americans at 11 percent. Vietnamese
top the list of foreign brides with nearly 70 percent of the total, followed
by Indonesians at 12 percent and Thais at 6 percent.

Unlike other countries' national radio broadcasters, such as the British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) or Voice of America, which target both
international and domestic audiences, Taiwan does not have a single national
public radio station serving both the national audience and the
international community.

So far, the only public radio stations targeting local audiences nationwide
are the National Education Radio, Police Radio System and the Voice of Han
Broadcasting Network.

As the government's airwave restructuring plan is due to be implemented on
July 1, Voice of Han will move to another frequency to make room for RTI to
broadcast 12 hours of foreign-language programs. The programs will be also
be available online.

Altogether, the channel will offer programs in eight languages. While RTI
will offer programs in five foreign languages, Voice of Han will offer
programs in three languages: Mandarin, Taiwanese and Hakka.

Under the government's restructuring plan, specialized public radio stations
such as the Police Radio Station, the National Education Radio and the Voice
of Han Broadcasting Network will be consolidated into one public
broadcasting group.

The group, along with other public radio stations, will operate in
frequencies between 104.4 and 108. They will provide four different services
nationwide, including public services (transportation, weather, disaster
relief, etc.), multi-functional services (Hakka, Aborigines, foreign brides,
foreign laborers, armed forces and language programs), and culture and
education services.
Apart from government propaganda, RTI's five foreign-language programs will
be mainly service-oriented.

A recent survey polling RTI audiences found that foreign listeners most
desperately want to know what's going on in their home countries. They are
also eager to know what happens here in Taiwan and what Taiwan's government
and Taiwanese people are up to.
Making a difference

Maria Chen, host of RTI's Indonesian-language program for the past seven
years, said that she vividly recalled some of her listeners' stories.

"I remember one of my audience members told me that she was very happy to
have accidentally tuned into my program and that she had become happier and
happier after listening to my program," she said. "Listening to the radio is
one of the few pastimes she can enjoy, she told me, because she is only
allowed to have one day off per week."

Chen's audience is mainly made up of homecare workers who take care of the
elderly and the sick.

Another of her listeners told her that she was very surprised to find out
that she could eat at the same table as her employer, because in Indonesia
domestic maids are not allowed to do so.

"I'm so glad that my program can make a difference," she said.

Tao Yun-sheng's audience, meanwhile, is mainly made up of Thai workers, most
of whom are in the construction business.
While Thai workers used to have the highest rate of job desertion, Tao said
he has come up with an innovative idea to help solve the problem.

"I give away free telephone cards to absconders so they can call in to my
program and tell me their personal stories," he said. "Now Thai workers have
the lowest rate of running away from their jobs."

According to Tao, Thai listeners are most interested in news about their
fellow workers and Taiwan.

Tao also appealed to the government to erect monuments for Thai workers who
have lost their lives doing construction work. According to him, over 50
Thai workers died during the building of the Northern Second Freeway, 12
during the construction of the Taipei-Ilan freeway and two while working on
the Taipei 101 skyscraper.

However, not a single monument has ever been erected in memory of their
sacrifices and contributions.

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