The
programme "Women's Half Hour" had phone-in elements. first two series on "Family Planning" and "Child Care" were later joined by other series on "Home Making", "Make-Up" and "Cookery".
11.
There was an increase in English and Mandarin lessons for radio lends itself particularly well to the teaching of languages. In the case of educational programmes produced with the help of the local universities, certificates were offered by the universities when a student completed the courses to standard. These educational programmes were presented in a variety of ways but one essential feature was the facility which allowed the listeners to phone in with their questions for ten minutes after the transmissions.
12.
It would be difficult to find a station anywhere around the world which produced the quantity and quality of drama which the Chinese Radio Service managed to transmit. Up to forty dramas a week were produced catering for every taste and drawing their material from a wide area. A random sample indicates the variety produced in one week:
Love Rhapsody (Monday to Friday)
aimed at the 15 to 25 year olds, a series based on young idealistic love.
Saturday Special a weekly thirty-minute drama using dramatised versions of locally written material.
A Daily Dramatised Serial - a situation comedy of ten years standing based on the life of a family and their friends.
The Defiant Ones (Monday to Thursday) - dramatised thrillers and detective stories. Most of the material was locally written.
The Sexes a new drama programme for adult listeners. Based on real life incidents, the programme explored human relationships. Initially this programme was considered to be too outspoken but its popularity increased as the series became established.
Music the service gave considerable coverage to Chinese classical and folk music and helped to preserve Chinese traditional culture.
4