On Fri, 04 Feb 2005 15:12:28 +0800, Alex Kwan litalex@slashyalex.com wrote:
I...disagree. I've been to Guangzhou many, many times. There are tons of local TV and radio programs in Cantonese/Yue, in addition to the Hong Kong programs they watch/listen to. Every time I was in a taxi, if the driver is from the local region, his radio is always tuned to a radio station that speaks Cantonese/Yue.
That's somewhat true, as folks native to southern Guangdong tune into HK-based and local Cantonese sources. Certainly they have the strongest local dialect programming in China, especially arts, culture and popular programming.
However, more and more, the region is being filled by migrants from other regions, because of the economic prosperity and worker shortages. In the extreme case of Shenzhen, Cantonese is not widely spoken among the 4.5 million inhabitants because the population is largely transplanted from other places. Because of this, and the ambition to be national satellite broadcasters, putonghua makes up the bulk of the content of these media groups. But your point is valid.
-Andrew (User:Fuzheado)