Good news for Hokkiens and even Hakkas in Malaysia who have long been deprived of Chinese programmes in their own languages over the national and private TV networks whose Chinese programmes are largely in Cantonese though with increasing Mandarin contents. For your info, on 13th October, 2007, Astro, the Malaysian satellite network, launched the "Hua Hee Dai" (channel 333) which is a dedicated Hokkien channel with programming largely in Hokkien and some Mandarin & even Hakka contents. I'm very grateful to Astro for being more sensitive to the requests of its subscribers compared with the national TV networks which screen more of Chinese programmes in Cantonese and none in Hokkien and Hakka eventhough Hokkiens and Hakkas constitute the largest and 2nd largest Chinese dialect groups respectively in Malaysia.
For more info on this, you can log on to the following website:
I found most of the programmes entertaining. I would like to urge Hokkiens and even the Hakkas in Malaysia who love their languages and want to ensure their survival in the Chinese community, to support Astro by subscribing to the package which includes this channel if they have not done so. If they are disinterested, Astro might close down the channel if it is not viable and ultimately it would be the Hokkiens and even the Hakkas who would lose out.
Ya, you're right. The programmes are mainly from Taiwan. Where else can we get TV programmes in Hokkien and Hakka except in Taiwan? The Malaysian national TV network seems so pro-Cantonese when it comes to Chinese programming, maybe due to vested interest involved in the supply of the programmes mainly from Hong Kong. Singapore government of course is out to kill Chinese dialects dictated by the policy of none other than LKY. Let's hope the Singapore government would allow some dialect programming in its national TV networks in future. Afterall the mother tongue of Chinese in Singapore is not Mandarin but various dialects which are languages in their own right particularly the minnan group which includes Hokkien, Teochew and Hainanese which together form the overwhelming majority of the Chinese population in that republic.
This is great news because over here in China, the Central Television used to boradcast under CCTV4 Hokkien programs during the weekends. However, it stopped.
There was recetlny a program in CCTV9 a program which showed a documenatry of the Hokkiens in Hokchiew (Foochow). It was called "3 Lanes and 7 Alleys". That was a good history lesson for me.
It told of the many imperial Conufcian scholars (25%) that originated from this township in Hokkien and they had influenced the development of modern China through many of their writings at the end of the 19th century.
The Empress Dowager at that time had several arrested and executed because of their reformist ideals. Some however escaped down south.
Even the Puyi (last emperor of China) has a teacher from Hokkien tried and failed to dissuade Puyi from collaborating with the Japanese to form Manchukuo. Obviously Puyi had other ideas.
It also told that the first modern school in China teaching technical subjects was also established in Hokkien - quite similar to the Chinese schools you see today.
All these came from the China Central Television, and it is official Chinese history and it was shown in English to all foreigners to learn about. The world should hear perhaps learn more about the Hokkiens. I see no valid reason for dampening of this part of Chinese history.
Let us all have a well deserved discussion and debate like gentlemen.
