The Chinese state television Guangdong Radio and Television (GRT) created a center to subtitle programs in Portuguese that can raise awareness in Portuguese-speaking countries about “the real China in three dimensions and in its entirety,” the Government of Macau announced this Tuesday.
In a statement, the executive specified that GRT, a television company owned by the Government of the neighboring province of Guangdong, created the Portuguese Subtitling Center of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, in the Deep Cooperation Zone. between Guangdong and Macau, on neighboring Hengqin (Mountain Island).
The Greater Bay Area is Beijing’s project to create a global metropolis that integrates Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong, in a region with around 80 million inhabitants and a gross domestic product (GDP) of more than billion euros, similar to the GDP of Australia, Indonesia or Mexico, countries that make up the G20.
The statement also reveals that “a series of original programs produced by GRT will be launched, with subtitles and dubbed in Portuguese” and that two programs will be broadcast “on the main television channels” in Portuguese-speaking countries.
The objective is “to make known to the public in Portuguese-speaking countries (…) the ancient Chinese culture and the new development of China, telling Chinese stories well,” stated the Government of Macau.
The creation of the center was announced in a statement released during the opening of the exhibition “Audio-Visual China – Stories from Macau and Portuguese-speaking countries.”
During the opening ceremony, GRT Deputy Editor-in-Chief Shi Yanfeng revealed that the company has already subtitled “almost five thousand minutes” (more than 80 hours) of programming into Portuguese for broadcast in Portuguese-speaking countries.
The executive administrator of RTC – Radiotelevisão Cabo-Verdiana, Margarida Fontes, confirmed that television stations in four Portuguese-speaking countries have already broadcast “500 hours of content about China” this year.
RTC, TVS – Televisão Santomense, TVM – Televisão de Moçambique and Televisão Pública de Angola (TPA) signed agreements today with the public broadcaster TDM – Teledifusao de Macau for cooperation in the exchange of audiovisual content and training of personnel.
During the ceremony, the president of the TDM General Assembly promised that Macau public television “will make more translations of Portuguese-language programs so that more Chinese citizens can learn about Portuguese-speaking countries.”
Ma Iao Heng said that the launch of a TDM channel in the neighboring province on October 1 will allow “transmitting more culture from Portuguese-speaking countries to the people of Guangdong.”
During the ceremony, the chief executive of Macau, Ho Iat Seng, reiterated that the region remains “committed to becoming a cultural platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, within the framework of the diversification of the economy.”
In 2019, the then deputy director of China’s National Radio and Television Administration, Fan Weiping, said he wanted Macau to create a translation and production center for Portuguese-language radio and television programs.
The “number two” of the Chinese regulator of the audiovisual sector also defended the launch in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory of cooperation initiatives and exchange of audiovisual content between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.
The Chinese special administrative region could be a base for the exchange of radio and television programs between China and the Portuguese-speaking world, the Chinese leader said.
Source: TSF
