A Protest on the Threatened State of the Cantonese Language

Who/what: More than 1000 people collected together in Guangzhou to bring attention to the outrage towards a television network proposal to remove Cantonese language from broadcasts and replace it with Mandarin, the national language of China. The protest ended in police involvement and any and all coverage was removed in China the following day (Wong).

When: Sunday July 25, 2010

Where: Guangzhou (广州), city in the southern province Guangdong in China. 

Why: The demonstration was initiated with growing controversy over the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference's (CPPCC) proposal to the Mayor of Guangzhou which suggested an increase in the use of Mandarin in television broadcasts. 

This is only but one example of protest over the growing influence of Mandarin in the Guangdong Province of China. More recently was public outrage over the announcement of the Nintendo release of Pokémon Sun and Moon in traditional and simplified Chinese in February 2016. The traditional character versions were to be marketed for Hong Kong and Taiwan while the simplified for Mainland China. However, the issue arose when the adapted Cantonese version was dropped and May 30, 2016 resulted in a demonstration of about 20 locals in Hong Kong in front of the Japanese consulate protesting the name change of Pikachu (Cooper). Although the situation may seem silly, it is in fact the demonstration of the gradual replacement of Cantonese with the widespread common dialect of Mandarin. It is not just these two specific instances of public protest, but rather a progressive resistance that has been building up over the past 19 years since Hong Kong was returned to Chinese control after about 150 years under British government ("Hong Kong Profile - Timeline"). The local dialect of Cantonese is part of the history and culture of the region and is therefore the identity. There movements and anti-sentiments toward the Central Beijing Government are at the source of the people of the Guangdong province and their Cantonese speaking counterparts. 


Works Cited
Wong, Edward. "Move to Limit Cantonese on Chinese TV Is Assailed." The New York Times. The New York             Times Company, 26 July 2010. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

 Cooper, Daniel. "Hong Kong Pokémon Fans Protest over Pikachu Translation." Engaget. AOL Tech Company, 31 May 2016. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.4

"Hong Kong Profile - Timeline." BBC News. BBC, 23 Sept. 2016. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.