Program Reductions at China Radio International (CRI)

While China Radio International‘s (CRI) airtime remains undampened, program hours appear to be going down, reports Radio Berlin Brandenburg‘s (RBB) media magazine. RBB points to CRI Portuguese as a striking example: the broadcasts have only contained music and references to CRI’s online pages for some time, and the Portuguese-language online pages contain only single articles, but not the usual program packages. Programs in Polish, Serbian and Albanian still contained short news readings, but only music apart from that, according to random checks.

CRI German, April 1 schedule

The German program seems to have seen some cuts, too. There used to be news broadcasts at the beginning of every transmission, but I haven’t heard any news or current affairs on Saturdays and Sundays recently, and today’s (Monday) two-hour program didn’t carry any news or current affairs either.

CRI’s most recent schedule was published online on April 1 this year, shortly after the beginning of the summer frequency plan. Apparently, it wasn’t updated when the HFCC’s current B19 transmission schedule went into effect a few weeks ago.

According to the April 1 plan, the two-hours German programs, from Monday through Friday, started with a news and current affairs program of 15 minutes, (“CRI Aktuell” / “CRI Aktuell mit Hintergrund”), 35 minutes of feature programs (“CRI Panorama”), followed by a language course of ten minutes, and an hour of cultural programs (“CRI Kulturcollage”).

On Saturdays and Sundays, a five-minutes news program (“CRI Aktuell”) was followed by 45 minutes of “CRI Panorama”, followed by a ten-minutes language course and 55 minutes of “Kulturcollage”.

Today, just as recently on Saturdays and Sundays, there were 50 minutes of “CRI Panorama” and the usual ten-minutes language course. The second hour was a repetition of exactly the same content.

CRI Chinese and CRI English still carry news and current affairs programs.

Back to Radio Berlin Brandenburg’s media magazine. They wonder why the shortwave frequencies which used to carry CRI Portuguese, Polish, Serbian, or Albanian, are still in use.

The answer may be that co-channelling (a slightly more sophisticated way of jamming undesired broadcasters abroad than applying the “Firedrake”) is easier when you have many shortwave frequencies in use. Abandoned frequencies could otherwise be collected by Taiwan, from where both national broadcaster Radio Taiwan International (RTI) and Chinese opposition broadcasters like “Sound of Hope” (希望之聲) are broadcasting to China on shortwave.

____________

Related

By any other Name, March 30, 2018
Innovative Guidance of Public Opinion, Nov 17, 2015
Rumors about CRI, April 13, 2015

____________

Gui Congyou comments on award to Gui Minhai: farce, brutal interference, full of lies, don’t feel at ease, wait and see

The following is an article by Huanqiu Shibao, a Chinese paper and international news website. Links within blockquotes added during translation — JR.

Main Link:
Sweden determined to award Gui Minhai award, China’s ambassador to Sweden says: wait and see

Huanqiu Shibao, November 16, consolidated report

环球网综合报道

On November 11 local time, Sweden’s PEN association an award ceremony in Stockholm. Despite China’s strong opposition, the organizers remained determined to award Gui Minhai a prize, with Sweden’s minister for culture attending that day’s ceremony. China expressed strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition against this.

当地时间11月15日，瑞典笔会在斯德哥尔摩举行颁奖仪式。尽管中方强烈反对，主办方仍执意向桂敏海授奖，瑞典文化大臣也出席了当天的颁奖仪式。中方表示对此强烈不满和坚决反对。

According to the website of China’s embassy in Sweden, China’s ambassador to Sweden said that just as we have solemnly pointed out, Gui Minhai is a criminal who committed serious crimes both in China and in Sweden. To give a prize to such a criminal is a complete political farce which incites crime and shelters criminals. This is also a brutal interference against China’s judicial sovereignty. Just as it is said in a Chinese proverb, virtue gets its reward, and viciousness gets its retribution. Sweden’s serious mistake undoubtedly creates serious difficulties for the normally friendly Sino-Swedish relationship and cooperation. No country, organization or individual should hope that the 1.4 billion Chinese people would swallow the bitter fruit of damage to China’s national interest and dignity.

据中国驻瑞典大使馆网站11月16日消息，中国驻瑞典大使馆表示，正如我们严正指出的，桂敏海是在中国和瑞典都犯下严重罪行的罪犯。给这样一个罪犯颁奖是一场彻头彻尾的政治闹剧，是在煽动犯罪，庇护罪犯。这也是对中国司法主权的粗暴干涉。正如中国谚语所说，善有善报，恶有恶报。瑞方的严重错误无疑给中瑞两国正常友好交往与合作造成了严重困难。任何国家、组织和个人都不要指望14亿中国人民会吞下损害中国国家利益和尊严的苦果。

Also, China’s ambassador to Sweden, Gui Congyou, refuted Swedish media lies about the Gui Minhai incident in an interview with Sveriges Radio on November 12. According to the interview records published by China’s embassy to Sweden on November 14, Gui Congyou said that Gui Minhai’s book was full of lies and completely lacking factual foundation. which was why we called him “fabricator of lies”. Sweden’s PEN association propagandizing so-called “freedom of speech” wasn’t only harming other peoples’ feelings and interests, but didn’t allow other people to express their different opinions. This was actually “freedom of lies”.

此外，中国驻瑞典大使桂从友也在12日瑞典电台(Sveriges Radio)对其进行的采访中驳斥了瑞典媒体关于桂敏海事件的谎言。根据中国驻瑞典大使馆11月14日发布的采访记录，桂从友称，桂敏海的书中充满了谎言，完全缺乏事实依据，这就是我们为什么叫他“谎言编造者”的原因。而瑞典笔会宣传的所谓“言论自由”，不仅损害了他人的感情和利益，而且不允许他人表达不同意见，这实际上是“谎言的自由”。

Ambassador Gui Congyou said that China resolutely opposed Swedish PEN’s award to a criminal and propagator of lies, which was just the same thing as advocating “freedom of lies”. China even more opposed any member of Sweden’s government attending the award ceremony. This would have seriously negative effects on the friendly Sino-Swedish cooperation and normal relations, and China would surely take countermeasures.

桂从友大使表示，中国坚决反对瑞典笔会将奖项授予一个罪犯和撒谎者，这与提倡“谎言自由”没有区别。中国更加反对任何瑞典政府官员出席颁奖典礼，这将给中瑞两国的友好合作和正常交往带来严重的负面影响，中方一定会采取对策。

Ambassador Gui Congyou said that “we urge the Swedish PEN association to immediately cancel the award to Gui Minhai, and urge the Swedish government officials not to attend the award ceremony. If they ignore China’s strong opposition and  obstinately stay their course, we have no other choice than to take measures. Certain Swedes should not hope to feel at ease after hurting the feelings and interests.

桂从友大使说，“我们敦促瑞典笔会立即取消对桂敏海的授奖，并要求瑞典政府官员不再出席颁奖仪式。如果他们无视中方的强烈反对而一意孤行，我们将不得不采取措施。某些瑞典人不要指望在伤害了中国人民的感情与利益之后还能够安心(feel at ease)”。

Asked what measures China would take, ambassador Gui Congyou said: “You will see. We demand some basic respect for China and 1.4 billion Chinese people from the Swedish PEN, and stop their wrong action before it is too late. Let’s wait and see.”

当被问及中方将会采取何种措施时，桂从友大使表示：“你会看到的。我们要求瑞典笔会对中国和14亿中国人民表示基本的尊重，并在为时已晚之前停止错误举动。让我们走着瞧( wait and see)。”

____________

Related

Radio Sweden, Nov 15, 2019
China News Stories, Nov 14, 2019

____________

 

Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) Christmas Program on Shortwave

As every year, Northern German Radio (NDR) has scheduled a four-hours Christmas program on shortwave – “Gruß an Bord” (greeting all ships) – for December 24, from 19:00 to 23:00 UTC. The program usually begins with a news broadcast of about five minutes at 19 UTC, and the actual Christmas program would start right after that.

[Please mind the updates underneath – Dec 18, 2019]

Leer Reformed Church weather vane, archive / edited

All messages will be pre-recorded, in Leer, a town in northwestern Germany, on December 8, in Hamburg on December 15, and at NDR broadcasting house (where letters and emails will be  accepted until December 15), and be read out on December 24, from 22:15 UTC, according to the NDR schedule. Sometime during the first three hours of the program, a one-hour religious service is usually transmitted.

Radio Berlin-Brandenburg’s (RBB) media magazine has published the broadcasting schedule as follows¹⁾:

19:00 – 21:00 hours UTC

transmitter site	kW	direct	kHz
Nauen, Germany	125	west	6080
Nauen, Germany	125	south- east	9720
Moosbrunn, Austria	100	east	9570
Issoudun, France	250	south- east	9800
Update, Dec 18	125		9740
Issoudun, France	250	south	11650
Noratus, Armenia	100	Europe	6030

21:00 – 23:00 hours UTC

transmitter site	kW	direct	kHz
Nauen, Germany	125	west	6145
Nauen, Germany	125	south- east	9720
Moosbrunn, Austria	100	east	9675
Issoudun, France	250	south- east	9590
Update, Dec 18	125		9740
Issoudun, France	250		9830
Noratus, Armenia	100	Europe	6155

The Nauen site is said to be the oldest continuously operating radio transmitting installation in the world. There was an interruption of about a decade, however, from May 1945 to 1955. By the end of the 1950s, it was also one of Radio Berlin International‘s (RBI) two transmission sites, thus carrying East Germany’s official programs for an international audience.

____________

Notes

¹⁾ as at November 1 (which seems to suggest that changes aren’t ruled out)

____________

Updates (Dec 18, 2019)

See Deutsche Welle reference to the NDR program for latest frequencies

____________

Related

Program history, Dec 25, 2017