Expansion of Radio Broadcasting
Radio continues to remain central to Taiwan daily life, with the
ratio of radios per capita in Taiwan now exceeding 100 percent. Prior
to 1993, there were only 33 radio broadcasting companies in the Taiwan
area. By mid-1998, the number had increased to 80, while another 65
stations, including a national station, were under construction. The
rapid expansion of the radio broadcasting industry is due primarily to
the release in recent years of frequencies once reserved only for
military and telecommunications needs, and the number of radio stations
is expected to grow to 148 in the near future.
The broadcast industry in Taiwan has come a long way since the
1950s, when dramatic, cultural, educational, and children's programs on
the radio were the mainstays of household entertainment. The advent of
TV broadcasting in Taiwan in the 1960s brought revolutionary change to
local entertainment habits; however, radio enjoyed renewed vigor in the
1980s, as stations adopted programming policies to secure target
audiences.
Currently, many radio stations focus almost exclusively on such
specialty areas as current news, light music, traffic updates, stock
market reports, or agricultural news. Throughout the 1990s, news
stations have diversified their programming to include regular features
and studio and telephone interviews. Also, newspapers, with their vast
resources, have started cooperating with radio stations to bring the
latest news into local homes as quickly as possible.
The ROC's increasing social diversity and growing public
assertiveness have led to a proliferation of radio call-in programs.
Listeners are eager to express their views on the air about national
developments and to put questions to government officials, who visit
the studios to answer inquiries about government policy. Call-in
programs cover a wide range of topics: everything from health care to
traffic laws. Radio broadcasting in Taiwan includes regular domestic
programming by medium-wave AM and VHF FM stations, medium- and
short-wave broadcasts to the Chinese mainland, and specialized
programming, via short-wave transmissions to other countries. Programs
in various Chinese dialects and English are also available.
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