Josephine Teo on Chinese dialect programmes on free-to-air TV and radio

The Government recognises the value of dialect programmes to convey information and public policies to the elderly, said Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo. Replying to an MP's questions in Parliament on Tuesday (Jan 10), she said Mediacorp's Channel 8 provides a dedicated belt of dialect programmes every Friday late morning. Its radio station Capital 95.8FM offers news bulletins in various dialects a few times daily. In exceptional circumstances, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowances were given to convey critical information and public service messages catered for the elderly as part of the national effort to provide accurate and timely information to every Singaporean about COVID-19 and to keep them engaged at home. She said there are currently no plans to allow more dialect programmes on free-to-air television and radio. Such content is available on other platforms, she added.