HONG KONG (AFP) – Hong Kong activists will rally on Sunday against China's bid to champion its national language Mandarin over Cantonese, following a rare protest for the same cause in southern China.
Organisers have called on supporters via Facebook to help protect their mother tongue, after thousands protested in support of Cantonese in the city of Guangzhou last Sunday, defying government orders.
Many of the protesters were young people wearing T-shirts reading, "I love Guangzhou" written in Cantonese, while shouting "Protect Cantonese, Love Guangzhou" and singing popular Cantonese songs, the Global Times reported.
"I believe we can gather 100,000 people to stop China's evil act of promoting Mandarin and destroying Cantonese!!!" the organisers wrote on the event's Facebook page.
"Protect Chinese heritage. Against the extinction of our culture by dictators," a supporter wrote on the site.
More than 1,000 protesters rallied in Guangzhou and Hong Kong on Sunday against what they say is China's bid to champion the national language Mandarin over their local dialect Cantonese.
Hundreds of mainland police officers were deployed to disperse protesters who gathered in People's Park in Guangzhou to call on authorities to preserve the Cantonese language and culture, Hong Kong broadcasters RTHK and Cable TV reported.
“我爱广东话， 不懂普通话”
"Guangzhou people speak the Guangzhou language!" some angry protesters chanted as the size of the crowd grew to about 1,000, RTHK said.
Videos from Cable TV and YouTube showed that some of the rally participants were forcefully carried away. A number of Hong Kong journalists were taken for questioning, according to Cable TV.
Chinese authorities have been anxious to suppress the growing pro-Cantonese movement, sparked after a political advisory body in Guangzhou proposed this month that local TV stations broadcast their prime-time shows in Mandarin instead of Cantonese ahead of the Asian Games there in November.
Adopting China's official language, also known as Putonghua, would promote unity, "forge a good language environment" and cater to non-Cantonese-speaking Chinese visitors at the huge sporting event, authorities were quoted as saying.
Hundreds of Guangzhou residents defied government orders and staged their first demonstration last Sunday. But the protest was soon suppressed by the authorities, according to reports.
To echo the Guangzhou campaign, about 200 protesters marched to the government headquarters in Hong Kong Sunday.
"We want to show our support to our Guangzhou friends in their campaign to protect Cantonese against any threat of elimination," said Choi Suk-fong, organiser of the rally.
Participants wore white T-shirts with a logo which said: "You want us to shut up! We will speak louder in Cantonese!"
A number of Guangzhou residents crossed the border to take part in the Hong Kong rally, saying that authorities there were trying to silence the protesters.
"I really regretted not going to the rally in Guangzhou last week. I came to Hong Kong today because I want to protect my own culture. Unlike on the mainland, here I can voice my view more directly," said 21-year-old Wyman, who refused to give his family name for fear of retaliation by the Chinese authorities......
回复[12]: 急讯 香港集会撑粤语 基度山 (2010-08-01 23:51:15)
ZT France 24（消息来源：伯的法兰西24小时电视台）
8月1日香港声援广州，集会撑粤语, 声势浩大
Hong Kong people rally to save Cantonese language
A man holds a sign professing his love for Cantonese, the main language in Hong Kong at a rally to help stop Mandarin being promoted in China. Hundreds of protesters rallied in Hong Kong against China's effort to champion its national language Mandarin over Cantonese, a week after a similar campaign was staged in the neighbouring mainland city of Guangzhou.
“要我们闭嘴，我们就越大声！”
A man holds a T-shirt saying, "The more you try to silence us, the more we will speak out" at a rally in Hong Kong against what protesters say is China's effort to champion the national language Mandarin over their local dialect Cantonese.
"丢哪妈， 顶硬上! 白色保城，捍卫粤语， 本土保育"
(白色代表白话=粤语）
People attend a rally to help stop Mandarin being promoted at the expense of Cantonese, the main language used in Hong Kong. Hundreds of protesters rallied in Hong Kong against China's effort to champion its national language Mandarin over Cantonese, a week after a similar campaign was staged in the neighbouring mainland city of Guangzhou. AFP - More than 1,000 protesters rallied in Guangzhou and Hong Kong on Sunday against what they say is China's bid to champion the national language Mandarin over their local dialect Cantonese.
Hundreds of mainland police officers were deployed to disperse protesters who gathered in People's Park in Guangzhou to call on authorities to preserve the Cantonese language and culture, Hong Kong broadcasters RTHK and Cable TV reported.
"Guangzhou people speak the Guangzhou language!" some angry protesters chanted as the size of the crowd grew to about 1,000, RTHK said.
Videos from Cable TV and YouTube showed that some of the rally participants were forcefully carried away. A number of Hong Kong journalists were taken for questioning, according to Cable TV.
Chinese authorities have been anxious to suppress the growing pro-Cantonese movement, sparked after a political advisory body in Guangzhou proposed this month that local TV stations broadcast their prime-time shows in Mandarin instead of Cantonese ahead of the Asian Games there in November.
Hundreds of Guangzhou residents defied government orders and staged their first demonstration last Sunday. But the protest was soon suppressed by the authorities, according to reports.
"We want to show our support to our Guangzhou friends in their campaign to protect Cantonese against any threat of elimination," said Choi Suk-fong, organiser of the rally.
Participants wore white T-shirts with a logo which said: "You want us to shut up! We will speak louder in Cantonese!"
A number of Guangzhou residents crossed the border to take part in the Hong Kong rally, saying that authorities there were trying to silence the protesters.
"I really regretted not going to the rally in Guangzhou last week. I came to Hong Kong today because I want to protect my own culture. Unlike on the mainland, here I can voice my view more directly," said 21-year-old Wyman, who refused to give his family name for fear of retaliation by the Chinese authorities.
Instances of mainland protests spilling over into Hong Kong, which was returned to China in 1997, are rare since China's 1989 Tiananmen crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.
"The citizens and concerned people can be reassured that Guangzhou would... not go for the so-called cause of 'abolishing Cantonese to promote Mandarin'," he said.
......
Many Hong Kongers are fiercely proud and protective of Cantonese and see Mandarin only as a language of convenience.
Verizon Adds Cantonese Channel and New Korean Channel to FiOS TV
Two New Channels Join Nearly 40 International Channels on FiOS TV, Covering More Than 20 Languages.
NEW YORK, April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon is expanding FiOS TV's international content offering with the launch of two new channels: Cantonese channel TVBe and Korean channel SBS. They join FiOS TV's extensive channel lineup, which includes nearly 40 international channels covering more than 20 languages, in addition to 27 of the most popular Spanish-language channels – a collection that cable can't match.
RFA
"Drinking mother's milk, betraying your mother tongue," reads a placard satirizing the politician who suggested cutbacks on Cantonese-language broadcasts in Guangzhou.
