GUANGDONG Province has never adopted any regulations restricting the use of Cantonese in broadcasting, a press release was told in Guangzhou on Saturday.

    Earlier media reports said broadcasters, including television and radio, will need to have permission to use Cantonese in broadcasting from March.

    “Cantonese broadcasting is never an issue in the province,” said He Ridan, deputy director of the provincial radio, television and film department. “According to the national regulations, radio and television should use the standard language and promote putonghua, but they never forbid the use of any dialects.”

    He said there was no restriction in Cantonese broadcasting and there would not be.

    The provincial government last year proposed switching prime-time programming on Guangdong TV’s main channels from Cantonese to putonghua. But the proposal was later postponed when it triggered unease among thousands of Cantonese speakers.

    “Cantonese is the most ancient language in China. It is not a dialect — hundreds of thousands of people all over the world use Cantonese. I feel very uncomfortable about [the change],” a Cantonese-language radio host said. “This will strangle the local traditional culture.”

    Another Cantonese program host at Guangzhou TV said restricting Cantonese in TV programs would “definitely make local people feel their language and culture are being suppressed,” the host said.

    (SD News)