TV switch to Putonghua rekindles fight over a voice for south

Alarmed at the threat to his mother tongue, Guangzhou resident Yao Cheuk last month sent more than 100 e-mails and instant messages to friends and relatives.

His plea was simple: join an online survey and register a protest over Guangzhou Television's plan to switch the broadcast language on its two leading channels from Cantonese to Putonghua.

Yao was not alone in resisting the official effort to impose broadcasts in the national language. Like-minded residents on June 7 launched a discussion forum on a popular Guangzhou website to speak up for Cantonese.

'Their plan is ridiculous,' Yao said. 'Can't they show some respect for our culture? The United Nations says cultural diversity should be preserved because it is mankind's heritage.'

Yao need not have worried about support for his plea. More than 80 per cent of the 30,000 respondents to a survey by the Guangzhou committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference opposed the plan.

However, local authorities were not listening as they prepare to host the Asian Games in November. Guangzhou Television decided to make the switch after the Guangzhou CPPCC on Monday recommended that visiting athletes and spectators should be able to enjoy programming on the two channels in a language more widely understood.