For many foreigners in Taiwan, International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT) provided a shared experience that transcended nationality, vocation, age and income. It connected us to one another and to the Taiwanese community at large.
Foreign commuters listened in to keep informed about current traffic conditions; Taiwanese students listened in for a cultural barometer of what was popular overseas and to practice their English comprehension; expat community groups listened in and made announcements of interest to the community; and everyone listened in to stay up-to-date on breaking news, whether it be earthquakes, typhoons, or -- worst of all -- national elections. How many taxi drivers, businessmen and shopkeepers -- among a long list of others -- owe even modest success in English to faithfully tuning into ICRT? A countless number.
Sadly, this phenomenon seems to be coming to an end. At forumosa.com our online petition expressing dissatisfaction has already attracted more than 300 signatures.
When Janet Chu (朱雅如), the new general manager of ICRT, took the reins last year, she pledged change.
Unfortunately these changes have alienated the foreign listeners of ICRT, the station's purported raison d'etre. The increased rotation of Mandopop, the Chinglish in the new jingle ("We Radio Life") and the dearth of an English-language talk-radio morning format have forced foreign listeners to turn off ICRT and turn on their CD players.
To remain "commercially viable," the station has cut its news broadcasts to a bare-bones minimum, replaced experienced DJs with less experienced talent and encouraged more Mandarin and less English when DJs are on air. It is now possible to listen to ICRT for the better part of an hour without even realizing that it is supposed to be international.
Simply put, ICRT is no longer a radio station for the international community, despite the station's ambitious claim of serving foreigners as its primary mandate. It does not help that the only market surveys measuring the effectiveness of the radio business do not poll foreigners. Instead, they concentrate exclusively on local listeners. ICRT, as a non-profit station, claims a charitable status. This makes us wonder, is ICRT in breach of that status?
Nelson Chang (張安平), chairman of the Taipei International Community Cultural Foundation which runs ICRT, feels that a lack of support, both from the foreign community and from the government, is hindering ICRT's success. While. Chang has been extremely gracious and approachable to the foreign community personally, his dismay is unfounded.
Taiwan's radio industry today is not the same as the one in which ICRT grew up. It's a cutthroat arena, where only the flashiest and hungriest thrive. Expecting ICRT to operate here while catering to a tiny but special community seems like asking a lot. But should ICRT be fending for itself?
Could the government do more to support the country's only English-language radio station? Certainly, having such a station makes Taiwan that much more attractive as a global and regional hub for business, in line with Taiwan's aspirations to be an active global player. If Formosa TV's new English-language news program can receive NT$80 million a year from the government for one hour of news a day, then surely at least a similar amount could be made available to fund ICRT -- a 24-hour media outlet with an established brand -- which we understand to have a considerably smaller operating budget.
Could multinational companies operating in Taiwan, whose expat families reap obvious benefits from having an international community radio station, do more to support ICRT? If each of the American Chamber of Commerce's (AmCham) 500-plus corporate members coughed up a measly US$1,000 a year, that would amount to roughly NT$16 million that could be used to sponsor and justify international community news hours, scheduled at the times of the day that the foreign community would most value them -- the early morning and evening commutes.
Let's not stop at AmCham: the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei, BritCham and the Canadian Society, among other international groups, have an interest in keeping ICRT both international- and community-oriented. It is no surprise that, according to ICRT's Web site, it was AmCham that brokered the handover from the US military to the foundation that shepherds the station.
In our online petition at forumosa.com, we challenge ICRT to act on several matters. The most important of these is returning former English-language radio programming to the airwaves. ICRT counters that if there was sponsorship money to pay for it, then by all means they would have it there.
Many foreigners have told us that they do not lament the loss of the country's only English-language radio station. We beg to differ. ICRT has a role in Taiwan, and only if we all pull together will we be able to keep something that helps make life as a foreigner here that much more livable.
It seems appropriate to close this piece with a song lyric. In the classic song Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell sang: "Don't it always seem to go/That you don't know what you've got till it's gone?" Let's not pave over our own radio station before it's too late.
Anthony van Dyck and Gus Adapon are administrators at forumosa.com.
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