Chinese-language program now shown on TV<\/p>\n
By Ida Indawati Khouw<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): China's national language, better known as
\nMandarin, was forbidden during Soeharto's New Order regime. The
\nban not only prohibited the speaking of Mandarin but also the
\npossession of printed material -- either newspapers, magazines or
\nbooks -- written in the language and performance of Chinese
\nculture including barongsai (dragon dance).<\/p>\n
Thus, people who longed for Mandarin television programs had
\nto buy a satellite dish to enjoy programs using the language
\naired by foreign stations.<\/p>\n
It is understandable why most Chinese Indonesians are happy
\nwith the presence of locally produced Mandarin programs pioneered
\nby Indonesia's newest TV station Metro TV, with its Xin Wen news
\nprogram which was launched on Nov. 25 last year, and by ANteve
\nwith the Info Bintang Asia infotainment program, after former
\npresident Abdurrahman Wahid's removed the prohibition of
\nMandarin.<\/p>\n
\"Upon watching the news program for the first time, my mind
\nwent back to the years when I spent some time in Taiwan. It's
\nstrange to hear Chinese being spoken publicly here,\" said a Xin
\nWen viewer Feily Emita, 43.<\/p>\n
Kandy Natazia Jorian, one of Xin Wen's two presenters, said
\nthat the program was warmly welcome, and not only from people who
\nspeak Mandarin.<\/p>\n
\"We receive many calls from non-Mandarin speakers saying they
\nenjoy listening to the language with its beautiful tones,\" Kandy
\nsaid. \"But the most important thing is that our program really
\nhelps expatriates here understand more about the country. There
\nare comments from the Mandarin speaking expats that confirm
\nthis,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The 30-minute program is broadcast daily at 11 a.m. and 11
\np.m., and repeated at 3 a.m.. Xin Wen has 15 crew including two
\npresenters, two reporters and five translators.<\/p>\n
Despite the ban during New Order regime, Chinese Indonesians
\nstill tried to learn the language. Kandy, who started to learn
\nMandarin at elementary school in 1970s, said her classes were
\nconducted in secret.<\/p>\n
\"I learnt the language secretly when I was a child in Jambi.
\nWe were forbidden to go to or leave our teacher's house in
\ngroups,\" said the woman, who continued studying Mandarin in
\nTaiwan in 1999.<\/p>\n
Infotainment<\/p>\n
In addition to the news program offered by Metro TV, ANteve
\nalso offers Info Bintang Asia, an entertainment program focusing
\non Mandarin stars.<\/p>\n
\"It's so great to have an infotainment program on Mandarin
\nstars. I had previously relied on foreign TV stations, magazines
\nor tabloids to follow the issues,\" said 22-year-old Lita Hartono.<\/p>\n
The 30-minute program -- aired every Saturday at 8 a.m. and
\nevery Monday at 6.30 p.m. as of April -- has interview, video
\nclip, news and review segments.<\/p>\n
\"Eighty percent of the program is about Mandarin stars, while
\nthe rest is on Japanese and Koreans. We believe there are many
\nfans of Mandarin stars here,\" said Jennifer Yap, executive
\nproducer of the Asia Entertainment production house.<\/p>\n
\"We hope former readers of Ria Film and Pesona magazines will
\ntune into our program,\" she said, referring to two magazines
\nwhich ceased publication in the 1980s.<\/p>\n
The program, with 90 percent of its content still imported, is
\npresented by four funky young Chinese Indonesians, who sometimes
\nspeak Mandarin. Singers Harry and Iin frequently perform Rayuan
\nPulau Kelapa and Bengawan Solo in Mandarin with young singer
\nLidya Lau.<\/p>\n
\"We are targeting teenagers and young mothers. The main
\nobstacle is that we don't have enough manpower to achieve the
\ntarget, thus we rely on Harry, Iin and Lidya as our local
\nsingers,\" said Jennifer, claiming that the program has received
\nresponses of up to 3,000 e-mails per day.<\/p>\n
ANteve's supervisor of the research program section, Djafar
\nMahfudz, said the show has good potential, although it had only
\nachieved number one in the ratings after 21 episodes. That means
\nonly around 250,000 viewers watch the program.<\/p>\n
\"Research shows that the potential audience is about 27
\nmillion viewers throughout the big cities. We'll continue to
\nbroadcast the program and we have recently signed a new contract
\nwith the production house,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But sinologist Myra Sidharta criticized both programs, saying
\nthat \"sometimes the presenter's pronunciation is incorrect\".<\/p>\n
Therefore, Harry and Iin's producers decided to send both
\nsingers abroad to improve their proficiency.<\/p>\n
\"In 1998 I was sent to Taiwan to study Mandarin, financed by
\nthe (music) producer,\" Harry said.<\/p>\n
Lidya's parents also spent money to finance their daughter's
\ncommand of Mandarin. Lidya received an award from the Indonesian
\nRecord Museum (Muri) as the first child singer of Mandarin.<\/p>\n
\"Lidya has the talent to speak Chinese and she's also willing
\nto learn. So we send her to a language training institution and
\nhopefully she will become a specialist Mandarin singer,\" Lidya's
\nfather David Lau said.<\/p>",
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