[HCDX]: NEWS: RTI, aka VOTI, but not TRI!

["Sonny M. Ashimori" <sonny@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

TAIWAN

Confused? Who isn't?

It turns out the new English name for the former Voice of Free China is
RADIO TAIPEI INTERNATIONAL, not "Voice of Tapei International" (Yamashita
via Padula) or "Taipei Radio International" as reported earlier. I heard
the new ID, "This is Radio Taipei International" at 0200 and 0300 UTC.

In Chinese, however, it is indeed TAIPEI GUOZI ZHESHENG, literally "Voice
of Taipei International." In Japanese, the new name is TAIPEI KOKUSAI HOSO,
a literal equivalent to the English name.

There was a lot of hot debate last year within the station about this name
change. "Taipei Radio International" was first suggested but many didn't
like it, and some insisted on "Voice of Taipei International," which many
opposed on account of its strange wording. Apparently now it pushed through
in Chinese, while in foreign languages the station took on the new name
"Radio Taipei International." In VOFC's last Japanese transmission on Dec.
31, the outspoken main personality called this name change the biggest
"disaster" of 1997! This kind of brutal honesty is what I love most about
this station.

In English, the announced mailing address is unchanged from P.O. Box 24-38,
Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. They usually use the P.O. Box in English and the
street address in Japanese.

A Happy New Year to all!

Sonny

_______________________________________________
SONNY M. ASHIMORI   <sonny@xxxxxxxxxxx>
World Wide Web http://www.serve.com/ashimori

------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a message from "Sonny M. Ashimori" <sonny@xxxxxxxxxxx>
to hard-core-dx@xxxxxxxxxx list. To unsubscribe the list, send
"unsubscribe hard-core-dx" in mail body to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxx
For more information, please check http://www.iki.fi/rko/hard-core-dx/
or email Risto Kotalampi, rko@xxxxxxx
------------------------------------------------------------------------