The move is reminiscent of a previous move towards Putonghua-language programming in 2010 on Guangzhou Television, which sparked protests in Guangzhou and Hong Kong over the marginalisation of Cantonese. Guangzhou TV eventually dropped the idea.

The news this time around was no better received:

Air哥_Chiu：
I can understand spoken Putonghua, but I would rather listen to Cantonese. Cantonese is the language of my forefathers that has been passed down to me…!! For outsiders that want to listen to the news, you shouldn’t watch Guangdong Satelite TV… there are other news that report Guangdong news in Putonghua [angry.emo]

Yurivikyi-八雲紫本命：
Why must the local department continually supress Cantonese media?

爱晒太阳的咸鱼M：
Don’t say that I am an angry youth (fenqing)! In fact, there should be respect given to the local culture and language! Language is the basis for an area’s culture and history; it’s a definite symbol! The crux of promoting Putonghua comes from deep within people’s hearts and whether or not they like this country, and if the people want to learn it on their own. It’s isn’t to force them to learn it against their will! you can change the language of one program, but can you change the will of the people?! Really no alternative. [rabbit.emo]

这佬倌有点浑：
It’s only right for outsiders to adapt to the local environment, and not the other way around, so long as the locals welcome outsiders. Aren’t outsiders supposed to adapt to the local culture?

Roxanne8626：
Abandon Cantonese and promote Putonghua? Fuck your mother! (Cantonese curse)

仁心仁述：
The Cantonese language is one of the cultures of China. Preserve Cantonese

客家吧务组：
Overthrow the hegemony of Putonghua at the Guangdong TV station. Overthrow the hegemony of Guangzhou dialect at the Guangdong TV station. Anyone whose mother tongue is Cantonese and who propagates Cantonese culture must allow Meizhou, Siba, Teochew, Huizhou, Leizhou and other languages to also appear on Guangdong television.

choutgui：
Have considered those that speak Hakka, Chaozhou dialect and other languages? Most residents of Guangdong Province don’t speak Cantonese. Boring.

小摩女辫仔：
Cantonese is a language, and not a dialect.

四Yan仔：
“Some netizens are in support of this because Putonghua can help outsiders understand the local situation when coming to Guangdong.” A dog’s fart, I don’t support this idea at all. If someone wants to understand the local Cantonese culture, then we should let even more people learn Cantonese. By learning, they can understand. This will be an even wiser policy decision instead of erasing Cantonese language! We should respect the culture of every region! Residents of Guangdong should speak Cantonese!

王总90前:
Agree to forbid Guangdong people from speaking Cantonese, and to make Guangzhou to become the “Cantonese Capital” (a pun of sorts on “Beijing”) [applaud.emo]

曹同学微博:
A “Menstrual period” [laugh.emo] station? [support.emo]
(a pun on “Cantonese Captial”; has the same character sounds)

Photos: Chinapost

It is famously said Cantonese will eat anything with four legs but the table and anything with wings except planes. The China Daily article was published in reaction to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations titled Edible Insects: Future prospects for food and feed security.  It argues that eating insects is one facet towards a sustainable food supply.

Calls for humans to eat bugs is nothing new. In 2010, ecologist Martin Dicke pointed out in a TED lecture (video below) that humans consume an unhealthy and unsustainable amount of meat. He claims that delicacies like locusts and caterpillars compete with meat in flavour, nutrition and eco-friendliness.

If you don’t have time to stream the lecture, here are some of his key points about the benefits of eating insects:

1. Human Health – Insects are so distantly related to us that there is no recombination of viruses harmful to humans such as swine flu.

2. Conversion factor – For every 10kg of feed, 1kg of beef and 3kg of pork can be produced. This is in contrast with 9kg of locusts.

3. Environment – Point 2 shows how much manure is produced through the farming of cattle and pigs.

4. Why not? – 80% of the world eats insects anyway. Europe and North America are simply lagging behind.

Here are some of the Cantonese staples that the China Daily article recommends:

Peanut worms

In Zhanjiang, peanut worms are harvested in shoals. Zhanjiang restaurants clean the worms and clear them of sand by first turning them inside out with a metal wire equipped with a small hook. They are either steamed with chopped garlic and glass noodles, fried like French fries or boiled in rice porridge.

Peanut worms, also known as sipunculus nudus, via Google Images

“They are a bit expensive, like 50 yuan per kilogram, but they’re cheaper after a typhoon because many are washed ashore,” Zhang Li, a Zhanjiang resident, told the paper.

She said peanut worms go particularly well with rice porridge. Dried peanut worms are also available and can be used in soup to give it a medicinal quality.

Scorpion soup

Scorpion soup is often recommended by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctors to cancer patients. The doctors believe the poison of the scorpion’s stinger combats cancer, making the critter a key ingredient in TCM.

Scorpion soup, via Google Images

“We make scorpion soup once a month on average but one cannot drink too much of it,” said Chen Yingkui, another resident of Guangzhou.

Chen added that eating scorpions acts more as a preventative measure against illnesses than as a cure.

Water beetles

It is recommended to use only the relatively soft and protein-rich abdomen, which tastes vaguely like the meat of a turtle or a crocodile.

They are also used in medicine and are believed to help combat diarrhoea.

There are many more so if you plan to delve into this world, it might be a good idea to have a Cantonese person lead the way so you get the most out of the experience.

The same can’t quite be said for Cantonese, however.  The language is difficult, with some estimating it contains anywhere from six to nine tones.  To make matters worse, there isn’t the same standardized romanization for Cantonese, like pinyin for Mandarin.  Yes, standards exist, but none have become dominant (the MTR uses different standards for different station names, even).

The topic of Cantonese is an interesting one in our region.  While Guangzhou is the heart of the culture, the Cantonese language is slowly becoming maligned in the city.  It’s common to travel in Shenzhen or Zhuhai and not hear it at all, as those cities were largely populated by migrants over the past 30 years.  But Cantonese pride is as strong as ever, as evidenced last year when protests erupted in both Guangzhou and Hong Kong over the government’s plans to limit television broadcasts in Cantonese.

This is a roundabout way of saying the language may not have the reach of Mandarin (although even this is debatable, considering the plethora of overseas Cantonese communities), but that could be because it is far more difficult to learn for non-native speakers.  Which makes these two white kids even more impressive.

Make sure to watch the whole thing, as their imitation of Cantonese English is pretty much spot on (we could do without the videographer’s stale commentary, however).