How blogs affect our community --Demonstration of protecting Cantonese in Guangzhou

Image: Wikipedia. The poster: Cantonese speak Cantonese

            
                  Blogs as a media to link the people with each other, especially mainland China, where do not have press freedom. So, blogs as a role break through the limitation of the Chinese Government to link up people’s comment in network (unlike other mass media, e.g. newspaper, magazine, which are controlled by the Government).

             For example, in July, 2010, there is a demonstration of protecting Cantonese (a dialect in China, mainly speaking in Guangzhou, Hong Kong) to controvert the adoption of Putonghua (Chinese national language) in Guangzhou TV Station. Blogs are the main media to organize this demonstration. From the Wikipedia, the signal is that in July 2010, the CPPCC Guangzhou Committee officially submitted a proposal to Guangzhou mayor Wan Qingliang, which suggestd that GZTV, a Guangzhou TV station should increase Putonghua programming by either adopting Putonghua as its primary programming language or converting all prime-time programs into using Putonghua and serving reruns in Cantonese. The purpose of the proposal is to enhance construction of soft environment before Guangzhou Asia Games 2010.

Image: Mak Blog. The Demonstration of
Protecting Cantonese in Guangzhou

             However, to the Cantonese, there is a suggestion to abandon speaking Cantonese and force to adopt Putonghua in TV program. So, blogs as a role organize people to hold demonstration of protecting Cantonese in Guangzhou. Hong Kong also has a similar demonstration of protecting Cantonese. From Wikipedia, general opinion in Guangzhou supports the demonstration. But the Chinese Government said the demonstration was illegal. At last, the Government ignores the proposal of using Putonghua as primary programming language in Guangzhou’s TV program. Everything remains unchanged on the language policy in Guangzhou. However, in mainland China, after the demonstration, the Government forbade searching any comment about protecting Cantonese. Most of the mass media in China do not report the demonstration. However, this raises a social movement of protecting Cantonese (and other Chinese dialects) in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and other Chinese cities as well as all around the world.

Reference:

Online Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_controversy_over_proposed_increase_of_adoption_of_Standard_Mandarin_by_Guangzhou_Television