Free China is now on a war footing. So is her radio fighting on the political front.
Free China's radio, broadcasting truth about the free world, is now becoming a serious threat to the Communists across the 100 mile Taiwan Strait who are using more than 20 powerful stations to counter broadcasts from various strategic points of Free China. Despite handicaps here and there, Free China's radio arm continues to grow at a pace that promises to play a decisive part in the war for men's mind.
Early History
In Free China, radio broadcasting began in late 1949 when the National Government settled down in Taipei after leaving the mainland. At the time, there were only three radio stations on the air: the government-operated Taiwan Broadcasting Station, the Chinese Air Force Radio Station, and the private Ming Peng Radio Station.
The only commercial station then was having a tough time keeping itself on the air. The Taiwan Broadcasting Station and the Air Force Radio Station, both supported by the Government, were offering only a limited number of programs designed to meet their respective needs. This situation, however, did not stop the ambitious broadcasters from going ahead to develop the industry.
The Broadcasting Corporation of China, under the energetic leadership of Dr. Hollington K. Tong, now Chinese Ambassador to Washington, led the way in expansion... With the 11 transmitters left behind by the Japanese, the BCC set up six stations in the major cities of Taiwan, in addition to its Taipei Station called the Taiwan Broadcasting Station. Soon, another new station designed primarily for native-born Chinese was added to TBS in Taipei, both using the transmitters rushed out of Nanking before Communist occupation.
Other ambitious broadcasters, spurred on by BCC's rapid growth, swung into action, They went about getting equipment and seeking construction permits. Within less than three years, radio stations on Taiwan were doubled.
The picture was indeed encouraging. But a new problem popped up: jammed signals resulting from drifting frequencies. This was due mainly to the lack of technical know-how in running the radio stations. This, of course, had dealt a blow at the broadcasting prestige.
The setup of the Broadcasting Administration Commission, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Education, had helped improve the situation slightly. In the meantime, advice and recommendations were offered by enthusiastic American engineers for the purchase of modern equipment. This was what was badly needed in order to "put the house in order." Determined to make the broadcasting business a going concern in Free China, the broadcasters went along and bought what they could afford.
While the situation was improving, the number of new stations continued to increase. A recent check shows that now there are 32 radio stations in operation. The new total means a 10-time increase. During the Japanese rule, commercial broadcasting was non-existent in Taiwan. Today, quite a few of the 15 commercial stations on the island are sending "singing commercials" to thousands of Chinese homes. The total number of radio sets in use on the island was officially given at· 123,020 as of May, 1956. However the number of unregistered sets is believed to run well over 100,000.
Station Classification
Broadcasting stations in Free China may be classified into three categories: those owned and operated by the Government, those under military operation, and those run by commercial broadcasters. Inasmuch as these stations represent different interests, their programs are tailored to suit their respective audience and needs. For example, the Air Force Radio Station provides programs designed primarily for the Chinese air force personnel, but has enough variety of interest to the listening public in general. A good part of its 11 ½-hour daily broadcast is beamed to the Chinese mainland and overseas Chinese.
Of the 32 stations in Free China, the largest is the Kuomintang-owned Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) which has a chain of eight regional stations throughout Taiwan. Besides, the BCC also owns and operates the Voice of Free China-its overseas branch, and the Mainland Broadcasting Department-a psychological war arm against the Chinese Communists.
Operating under government contract, the BCC spends some NT$7,200,000 a year. This would amount to something like US$360,000, according to rates fixed by the Bank of Taiwan. The Government foots only two thirds of the bill — NT$4,700,000, only 1.2 % of the total amount spent by Voice of America. The rest comes from sale of radio sets and small transmitters produced by BCC.
The Voice of Free China, speaking for the Government of Free China, broadcasts around the world and almost around the clock in 14 different languages and native dialects, ranging from English to Russian and from Mandarin to Tibetan and Mongolian. The bulk of its 20 ½ — hour daily broadcasts are directed behind the Bamboo Curtain — a job handled by the Mainland Broadcasting Department of BCC.
VOFC heads the list of radio stations that shower what has come to be known as "audio bombs" on the Red-held mainland. VOFC hits the mainland for 12 ½ hours daily with seven powerful transmitters. It was strengthened in May, 1954, with the installation of a brand-new medium-wave transmitter. Operating at 125,000 watts, the new transmitter is said to rank only second to VOA stations in the Far East. Theoretically, VOFC could reach every nook and corner of the Chinese mainland.
Have VOFC's broadcasts been effective? Is it listened to by people behind the Bamboo Curtain? The answer is implicit in Peiping's new, prodigious efforts to "jam" Taiwan broadcasts. Its effectiveness is further confirmed by the testimonies of fugitives and Red defectors from the Chinese mainland.
No sooner than the new 125,000-watt transmitter went on the air, Peiping dispatched a full-scale mission to Moscow to seek Russian help in order to counteract broadcasts from Taiwan. The Russians, who spend more money in "jamming" Voice of America's broadcasts than the total amount spent on VOA's entire worldwide program, were certainly the right party to approach.
Given green light, the Chinese Reds moved to set up new stations along the China coast, installed more transmitters, and upped their air time. Today, it is estimated that more than 20 stations, eight of them using extremely powerful medium-wave transmitters, are beaming propaganda broadcasts to Free China. Some of them are so powerful that they could reach almost any part of Taiwan, except, perhaps, Taipei. In some instances, programs carried by the Taiwan Broadcasting Station and those sent from Voice of America are badly disturbed. As a matter of fact, the Chinese Reds, like the Russians, also use a good number of "jammers" which are 50 times more powerful than Free China's transmitters, trying to black out Taiwan's broadcasts. Despite Red jamming, the Voice of Free China seems to have hit where it hurts.
In a report to the "People's Congress" convened in Peiping on September 15, 1954, the Chinese Communist Party Secretary Liu Shao-chi admitted that "Taiwan has been attacking us every day in radio broadcasts ... "
The real test of the effectiveness of VOFC's broadcasts to the mainland is the defection of Communist soldiers. King Yu-wan, an ex-Red company leader who turned his back toward Communism in October 1954, said: "I made my break for freedom because I had listened to the Voice of Free China."
Last January, the Voice for many days kept airing the calls issued by Chinese air force chief General Wang Shu-ming urging Red pilots to desert Communism and fly their planes to Taiwan. Three weeks later, the Hongkong Times (January 23, 1956) reported that a Red air force squadron leader, identified as Fang Tien-hung had failed in his recent bid for freedom. Unfortunately, Fang's plane was intercepted after take-off from Shanghai. Later, Peiping tightened its grip over all Red pilots.
As King Yu-wan revealed, listening to broadcasts from Taiwan is strictly prohibited. In October 1954, a technician at the Tientsin Iron & Steel Plant was sentenced to death on charges of clandestine listening to "enemy broadcasts."
Last July, some 100 college students in Shanghai were rounded up by Red authorities and charged with tuning to Taiwan radio and attempting to overthrow the Communist regime. Despite the Red ban, King reported, many risked their lives to tune in to the Voice of Free China.
Other Stations
The Cheng Sheng Broadcasting Company is the first commercial network in Taiwan, having six affiliates scattered around the island. Begun on April 1, 1955, the first and biggest commercial net grew out of a twin station-Cheng Sheng and the Voice of Righteousness-which signed on the air five years ago on the same day.
Though operating under corporation law, the Cheng Sheng Broadcasting Company is also a recipient of government subsidy to help maintain the Voice of Righteousness which is mainly a "psy" war arm against the Chinese Reds. Two thirds of VOR's 9-hour daily broadcasts arc beamed toward continental China while the rest to overseas Chinese.
Aided by five affiliated stations over a tic-up of seven transmitters, the VOR has scored fine records in the "battle of the air" against Communism over the last six years.
One of VOR's tasks is to call on anti-Red guerrillas operating on the mainland to get in touch with the Government in Taipei. Letters and newspaper clippings seeping out of Red China through Hongkong indicate that the VOR is definitely getting through. Among the letters VOR has referred to the free Chinese military authorities were those from Hupeh, Hunan, Kwangtung, and northern Kiangsu provinces.
In December, 1954, the Reds stepped up their non-military campaign of "liberating" Taiwan by staging photo exhibits and round-table discussions in Shanghai. They dubbed the move as "Taiwan Is the Beautiful Island of Our Fatherland" Campaign. VOR pitched in. It started a series of broadcasts on "Taiwan Today," emphasizing the island's beauty, integrity, freedom and progress. Each program ended up with a call urging the mainland people to reject Communism and flee to Taiwan. A week later, the Reds shifted the show to Tientsin and re-named it "We Must Liberate Taiwan" Exhibit.
Another menace to the Reds is the Chinese Armed Forces Radio Service which operates under the Ministry of National Defense. Established 13 years ago in wartime Chungking, the AFRS tailors most of its programs to suit military needs. It did well to help coordinate military activities during the war and was a, nightmare for the Japanese. Besides broadcasting, its functions also include calling enemy soldiers in the frontline to desert.
AFRS has been bombarding the Red-held mainland 17 hours a day over a network of seven stations and 11 medium and short-wave transmitters. Two of its seven stations along the north and central Taiwan coast concentrate their broadcasts on the Communist soldiers in general, while two others on the south coast build up their programs expressly f9r the Chinese Communist Navy.
Last October, the AFRS moved one step closer to the mainland by setting up a station on the offshore island of Kinmen with demoralizing the Red troops just across the Taiwan Strait as its mission. Last January, another station was built near Taipei as a new addition to the AFRS net, all meshed for an intensified air-wave battle against Communism in China.
The AFRS, too, has reported encouraging gains in the "air" war. Last fall, an ex-Red militia leader, an armed Communist soldier, and six fishermen made a surprise landing on Kinmen. They told the local garrison that they were spurred on by AFRS' radio broadcasts and loud-speaker calls.
Plans for expansion of AFRS include setting up of relay points to form an island-wide tie-up in Taiwan and installation of additional loud-speakers in frontline posts. The AFRS is ready to go ahead with the construction work within this year.
The Taiwan Police Radio Station was set up in March 1954 by the Provincial Government to help carry out the island's police functions more efficiently.
This station has been more or less instrumental in promoting closer cooperation between the police and the public. One of its unique and laudable accomplishments so far has been the recovery of lost children. During the past two years, it has, with the aid of local police establishments, succeeded in locating some 3,500 children who had gone astray, and turned them over to their parents. The Police Radio Station, like most of the stations in Free China, also devotes part of its time for broadcasts against the Chinese mainland.
Of the 32 stations in Free China, there is only one English speaking station-BEC-27 in Taipei affiliated with the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.
BEC-27 became the Voice of MAAG- Taiwan when it was presented to the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group in 1954 as a Christmas gift from the Chinese military. It went on the air on December 23, 1954. During the past 18 months, the Sino-American operated station has made noted progress in broadcasting equipment and program materials, the bulk of which comes from the Armed Forces Radio & Television Service in Tokyo. It goes on air for 88 hours and 30 minutes per week.
With the increasing influx of US servicemen's families from the States, MAAG is thinking in terms of a larger radio station and a TV station (The Chinese Ministry of Education is contemplating TV by early 1957). Plans are, however! still in the formative stage.
Program Review
Program wise the BBC, with its domestic and overseas branches combined, boasts a 253.5-hour broadcast daily. Programs which go out over the Voice of Free China include straight, factual news reports, using information gathered from the various wire services. To the mainland, full coverage of day-to-day developments in the free world is given in the news which constitutes 12 % of all programs. Emphasis is laid on matters concerning anti-Communist activities. News commentaries and features 'amount to about 36%, the rest being entertainment shows designed to keep the mainland people happy and hopeful.
Aside from the Red-held mainland, VOFC is also beamed to foreign points for eight hours a day in English, French, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Arabic, Kuo-yu and other Chinese local speeches. Countries covered include the United States, Britain, France, Japan, and others concerned. A good part of its programs is intended for Chinese communities abroad. BCC is thinking in terms of increased program service for Chinese nationals in Southeast Asia.
As far as its domestic programs go, many a BCC program enjoys highest rating (listenership) in Free China. One of its most listened to radio shows is the Sunday Drama which goes on the nationwide hookup every Sunday night. The show started seven years ago with the formation of BCC's Drama Club. Now listening to the Sunday Drama is an integral part of Chinese life on Taiwan.
Another popular program is the "Yun-kwan (male name) and Ping (female name)" Show, akin to the American TV hit "I Love Lucy." On the air five times a week, Yun-kwan and Ping, to whom a "girl" was born three years ago, talk about almost everything in life and, more often than not, would argue a good lot. Ping, played by BCC's pretty female announcer Wang Mei, has become a personality so popular that her absence from the show would cause a flood of letters.
A breakdown of the radio program makeup in Free China shows that news constitutes 16.33 %; music, 32.4%; drama, 14.92%; education, 29.61%; and public service, 6.74%. Besides, there is also a good coverage of special events-on-the-spot broadcasts-such as presidential election, political conventions and meetings, concerts, sports, visits of prominent personalities, etc.
The programs of the radio stations in Free China are usually good and well-planned. Production quality is poor, however, because the stations lack talents and professional men-radio engineers and producers. Their equipment in use, some of them outmoded, are far below professional standards. Said an American engineer: "Any rules applicable to good engineering practice would prohibit the use of such equipment."
Radio in Free China is at least 20 years behind the United States. The Chinese broadcasters, realizing the situation, have done their utmost to improve the technical quality of their programs. The stations which used to sound mumble-jumble now find their audience back. They now have new crystals which helped stabilize their frequencies. Most of these stations with limited means available, are trying to bring in Stateside equipment. Among the badly needed are tape recorders, turntables, tapes, discs, etc.
Another good thing is the recent setup of an engineering production division by BCC for better coordination between the production and engineering branches. This has been done at the suggestion of Henry Cassis, a USIA radio specialist known to most of the Chinese broadcasters. Mr. Cassis, an old-timer in Taiwan, has provided free, sound technical advice not only to BCC but other stations as well. He deserves mentioning here for his share in helping put the Chinese broadcasting on a sound footing.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to fill part of the rising need for more trained radio hands, the BCC set up a Radio Workshop last May to train radio announcers, script writers, newscasters, etc. As the first one of its kind in China, the BCC Radio Work shop offers free courses to some 65 radio aspirants, practically all of them daytime job-holders.
How Broadcasting is Governed
Oddly enough, radio as a medium of mass communications in Free China is governed and controlled by the Ministry of Education instead of the Ministry of Communications, which is the counterpart of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
To administer overall broadcasting in Free China the Ministry of Education set up in June 1952 the Broadcasting Administration Commission. The Commission is made up of one chairman who is the Minister of Education, and from nine to 15 members represented by various broadcasting organizations.
Though comprising three departments-programming, engineering and library, the Commission has, ironically enough, only four full-time staff members. Under-staffed and under-financed, the Commission has not been able to do what it wants, i.e. to improve Free China's broadcasting system. It seems that the Commission could hardly do anything under the present circumstances unless the Government pays more attention to its functions and responsibilities.
Some Problems
Finally, I feel that I must not conclude without bringing before the public some of the problems faced by the broadcasting companies of Free China.
The biggest problem of course is money. All the radio stations in Free China regardless of their ownership are operating under a tight budget, despite the fact that they do receive government subsidy once in a while.
In the war for men's minds, Free China is pitted against the most experienced and far better-equipped propagandists in our time. Information available here shows that a year ago, the Chinese Reds had under their disposal some 156 radio transmitters generating a power of 715,000 watts as against Free China's 41 transmitters and 272,850 watts-roughly one third of the total Communist radio power. Besides, their radio manpower was more than 20 times the number of radio workers in Free China.
That the broadcasting of Free China has its weakness is admitted. The broadcasters are trying to improve and remove their shortcomings. We have a lot to learn about modern broadcasting techniques and psychological warfare. We have as yet to develop a deeper appreciation of the full value and power of radio as a "psy war" weapon. It would have been a miracle indeed had the Chinese broadcasters made no blunders.
In improving Free China's broadcasting and in waging a more effective political war against the forces of evil, Free China not only needs more money, more powerful transmitters and up-to-date equipment, but more men-engineers and producers with professional training who should be better paid. Although American assistance has been received in the form of technical advice and dollar exchange for the procurement of Stateside equipment, more help is needed to fill urgent needs.
The Government of Free China, in the meantime, should give greater attention to radio and help it grow. How much we could accomplish by broadcasting if we took this phase of the struggle between freedom and slavery and between democracy and totalitarianism as seriously as our enemy does!