Friends from afar
Many old hands at CBS describe the period between the Tiananmen Incident of 1989 and Taiwan's first transfer of power in 2000 as the station's golden era.
Cross-strait relations were thawing at the time, and CBS broke off from the Ministry of National Defense to become an independent corporation. It also merged with Voice of Asia, which was originally the overseas broadcasting arm of the Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC). Changes were made in CBS's hosts and programming, and it was reoriented toward general interest shows featuring popular music, lifestyle news, and inspirational essays. The lively, personal style and content opened new doors for mainland audiences and became highly popular.
Wu Ruiwen, director of programming, remembers the large audience in mainland China. Their counterpart on the mainland, The Voice of the Straits, would collect mail for them and forward it on. Each delivery brought several large sacks of letters. They wanted to go to the mainland to visit their fans, but they didn't dare hold an event open to the public. Instead, they only announced that they would be in such-and-such a hotel in such-and-such a city and that everyone was welcome to "stop by and say hello." They didn't realize what a strong response they'd get. Often when they'd arrive at their hotel, it would be full of fans bearing flowers.
One time there were three listeners who had spent hundreds of Renminbi to make the three-day, three-night trip from Henan to Fuzhou to see them. The CBS staff were shocked by their disheveled appearance and only later learned that, with no money left over, they had spent the night on the streets. Wu was very moved and tried to give them some money, but they adamantly refused. Many years later, one of them called Wu and said, "Brother Wu, I run a computer company now. Come to the mainland and let me take care of you all!"
Back to politics
In recent years, the mainland has made a lot of progress. It's more open than it used to be, and information from many sources is available. It's no longer left to CBS to provide news from the outside world. Also, after the Democratic Progressive Party came to power in Taiwan, they looked to further separate Taiwan from the mainland and created a number of shows criticizing the state of human rights and democracy in China. They invited activists to speak out. Many long-time listeners thought, "What's with all the politics? You guys have changed-didn't we used to be friends?" The mainland reacted by clamping down on outside interference. CBS eventually quieted down and turned its attention to the Internet.
In addition to mainland China, CBS has made efforts to spread its political message internationally through many different languages. For example, during the first Gulf War in 1991, Central Broadcasting System reporters entered the Anman Regency Hotel, which was within the range of Saddam Hussein's missiles, and set up an antenna on the roof to receive local Arabic broadcasts and send out first-hand information. They also disseminated Taiwan's point of view. Their fluent Arabic and bravery under fire put them among the best of the international reporters.
Taking it on the road
In late October 2008, after Taiwan's second democratic transfer of power, the newly appointed head of CBS, Gao Huiyu, said that the broadcaster would continue on with its founding directive-to faithfully report and reflect the new administration's policies and point of view. She also said her goal was to take the organization in a more multifaceted, international direction.
For example, CBS's broadcasts have long been popular among ethnic-Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Seeing as how in recent years the number of Southeast Asians in Taiwan for work or marriage has surpassed 500,000, CBS has a new target audience. Thus it is cooperating with private radio stations such as the Voice of Han Broadcasting Station to create Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Thai programming to be broadcast domestically. There will be shows broadcasting news from home, dealing with their concerns, offering Mandarin language instruction, and introducing Taiwan.
Starting in 2006, CBS has chosen a Best Foreign Laborer of the year from among nominations from employers. It pays for the winner's family members to come to Taiwan for a visit. Every year it elicits a great response, with even Southeast Asian diplomats in Taiwan taking part and expressing gratitude.
Back to the basics
Shortwave broadcasting is expensive, and the shortwave radio is on its way out, so looking to the future Gao says she will focus more on CBS's news website and providing audiovisual programming over the Internet. For that, the organization's new studio will be of use. At the beginning of 2009, Gao will personally lead CBS's foray into Internet television with a pilot for a show called "CBS Summit Meeting."
Looking at national broadcasting agencies around the world, Gao says that in political terms CBS cannot compete with the Voice of America, which is controlled by the White House and through which American leaders can directly disseminate their viewpoints. In terms of public image and influence, CBS is no match for the venerable British Broadcasting Company or Japan's NHK, which are both respected as models of independent media. Shrinking allocations from the government in recent years have also restricted CBS. Yet she swears that, like an expert chef who can whip up a meal with limited ingredients, CBS will be even better at its fundamentals and get more competitive, and that this institution, the second-to-none broadcaster for Chinese communities around the world, will shine brightly once again!