LOCAL NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

‘CRI has familiarised Nepal to the Chinese’

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Apr. 10: Language can be a good tool for friendship and to strengthen relations between peoples, said Chen Minyi, Vice President of China Radio International, who is currently on a visit to Nepal.

The China Radio International (CRI) broadcasts in 43 languages, including Nepali, around the world. The CRI started broadcasting in the Nepali language in 1975, and in its almost three-decade long service, it has helped introduce Nepal to the Chinese people and China to its Nepali listeners.
After graduating from the Beijing Broadcasting Institute in the Nepali language in 1969, Chen joined the CRI. In 1979, he came to Nepal to study Nepali language in Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur. During the two years he was here, he studied Nepali literature and Nepal’s history. “Chudamani Bandhu was one of the teachers, who taught us,” he still remembers. He had visited Nepal as a special correspondent during the visit of Chinese President Li in 1984.

This time he came to Nepal after more than 17 years. He said during his flight to Kathmandu in the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation aircraft, he went through the Gorkhapatra to refresh his language skill.

He said through the CRI they have also introduced Nepali literature in the Chinese language. One of the most popular among them was Aamako Sapana by Gopal Prasad Rimal, he said. He said the CRI had also broadcast six poems of Her late Majesty Queen Aishwarya.

The main objective of broadcasting the Nepali language is to acquaint Nepalese about China - its history, culture, customs, ethnic groups, development and other aspects of Chinese life. The Radio also allows the Chinese people to know about Nepal. “But the primary theme is to increase friendship,” he said.

Now, CRI has a team of 13 for the Nepali language broadcasts, and 12 of them are Chinese, all equally adept in the Nepali language. Some have even taken up Nepali names like Barsha, Megha, Ravi and Keshari Maiya to make themselves familiar with the Nepalese listeners.

The CRI broadcasts to 180 countries around the world, and Chen said they receive more than one million letters every year. There are also 3,000 CRI fan clubs around the world.

Presently, Chen leads a team of seven members to participate in the prize distribution in the radio quiz contest on ‘Science and Technology in Present China’ held in 2002. “The other objective is to meet with the listeners and to listen to their views about our programmes,” he said. The prize distribution ceremony was organised on April 7. Currently, the CRI broadcasts every day for one hour in two separate broadcasts.

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