The goals of the authorities to promote Putonghua by issuing the new policy are fundamentally good. The popularity of Putonghua is due to its convenience for communication, which clears up the obstacles between people from different areas. Promoting Putonghua in televisions and radio programs is aimed at helping local citizens improve their communication skills and better understand the culture behind the language. For immigrants who just left hometowns, the Putonghua programs makeit easy for them to get information and reduce the feeling of isolation.

One point natives of Guangdong hold against more Putonghua use in television and radio program is a worry about the possible disappearance of Cantonese. As local people who are attached to their dialect and local culture, it is understandable that Guangdong locals think Putonghua popularization could affect the popularity of Cantonese.

But they forget it's unlikely for Cantonese, one of the five most commonly used languages in China and the most widely spoken Chinese language outside of China, to disappear simply because of the popularization of Putonghua in Guangdong. In China, it is spoken in Guangdong Province and some neighboring areas, such as the eastern part of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and is seen as the official language in Hong Kong and Macao. It is also spoken by overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, the US, Canada and elsewhere. On the basis of these situations, citizens seem to overreact to events and exaggerate the negative effect Putonghua has brought.

So far, some local media have shown a positive attitude toward this rule. They said that needing permission to broadcast Cantonese programs does not mean ending Cantonese programs.

Putonghua popularization and protecting Cantonese aren't necessarily in conflict but can coexist. If a more reasonable way could be found out to keep a balance between promoting Putonghua and protecting Cantonese, the conflicts will end.

The author is a Master candidate of international journalism at Fudan University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn