Hong Kong: "One frequency Three channels", in the June 4 Candle Night Vigil

(Editor: Citizens Radio has been sued by Hong Kong government as an “illegal-licensed ” radio station. The writer of this article has been a volunteer at the illegal citizen radio and helped broadcasting the June 4 candle night vigil for the past 5 years. This year, the writer found that Hong Kong not only has “One Country Two System”, but also has “One Frequency Three Channels”. The Citizens Radio was intervened by some “third-party forces” during vigil. Writer worried this might be instructed by the Chinese government as one of the channel is a mainland one. The article recorded what happened in that evening.)

“As before, I was a helper of Citizens Radio during June 4 Anniversary. Citizens Radio aims at the opening of airwaves and has insisted for 5 years. This year, many web-radios formed a web-radio union and broadcasted the event with us lively.

The Citizens Radio and community Radio FM101 (another public radio) has been fought for freedom of speech in airwaves for the Hong Kong people. However, they had new “audience” this year. All programs produced by Citizens Radio have been archived by Telecommunications Authority, there are no exception for the programs of June 4 and July 1 March. In the June 4 Anniversary, the public broadcasting aim at broadcasting the live program and the General Assembly's instructions to those who cannot enter to the venue as well as oversea audience. Meanwhile, at the July 1 March, we provide real-time information to facilitate the arrangement of the march, and let people know the situation.

However, during the June 4 anniversary in this year, when the public was just sitting down at 6:45 p.m., Citizens Radio FM 102.8MHz and Community Radio FM101 channels had emerged with the channels of Pearl River Economic radio (A channel in Mainland China. Hereinafter referred it as “Pearl River Radio”) and Metro Radio (a Hong Kong licensed channel). Their programs were more “fascinating” than the web radio union, which only had single content. This situation had been continued for almost two hours. At that moment, the content received by a general radio was in such cycle: 5 seconds of Metro Radio, followed by 5 seconds of Citizens Radio, then 5 seconds of the Pearl River Radio. This cycle was repeating as if three people spoke in sequence. We would not imagine that an analogue radio could have had so much “entertainment”.

Logically, I was working in the booth of the web-radio union while the Citizens Radio’s antenna was just next to me. It seemed impossible for such situation. Therefore, there was only one reason - we were covered by the Hong Kong and China's radio station!

By common sense, when we turn on a traditional radio, AM channels have more noise and poor reception while FM channels are relatively easy to hear clearly. Furthermore, if you press the mono mode, the channel will be even clearer.... In fact, AM radio refers to Amplitude Modulation which mean it operates as if people talk, using the signal amplitude to transmit sound waves. When we want to transmit voice data, they are all re-encoded by the signal amplitude. Therefore, as long as the signal has a little block, the sound quality will be affected. FM radio is another case. FM signal combines the signal wave and the signal carrier together, and then it will form a frequency modulation signal. When the frequency is received by the radio, we can hear the broadcasting content.

However, FM has a weakness that does not exist in AM. Precisely, FM radio is only transmitting the frequency modulation signal into soundwaves. If others have a stronger frequency modulation signal, the signal of weaker one will be covered off completely. So the radio will merely turn the stronger signal into sound. The weaker signal will only consume electric power, nothing else. Therefore, this explains why we had heard the Metro station for 5 seconds, 5 seconds for Citizens Radio and 5 seconds for the Pearl River Channel. It was only because the three parties were wrestling for the channels in that evening.

According to the sound broadcasting services frequency table provided by Telecommunications Authority of Hong Kong, Metro Radio has two channels closer to FM102.8: one is located at Lamma Island with frequency of 102.1 while the other at Castle Peak with the frequency of 102.5. By the International Telecommunication Union's FM Sound Broadcasting Technology Planning, the distance of 0.1 to 0.2 MHz is sufficient for a FM channel. The distance between FM102.8 and the two Metro channels are at least 0.3MHz, which is absolutely sufficient space. In addition, according to the information found on the Web, one of the Pearl River channel is 103.000 MHz, which maintains a minimum spacing 0.2MHz with FM102.8 MHz. However, the broadcasting center of the Pearl River Channel is located in Guangzhou. I have been the radio host of the Citizen Radio since half years ago. I had never heard the 6:30 sports news of the Pearl River Channel while I was listening to my live program.

Obviously, the Metro Radio is more illegal than the so-called illegal Citizen radio. That is, as a licensed radio, it “crossed the broadcasting frequency” in June 4! Besides, the Pearl River Radio used the “war-needed” (spared frequency) 100,000 W output power on that evening. So that its localized Guangzhou’s programs could be heard along the Pearl River coastal area, which also included, as far as, Hong Kong and Macao. Were the two radios received similar instructions from different sources or was there any highest direct behind the coordination? It was unknown.

Surprisingly, after the coverage of two radios, both Citizens radio and FM101 channels heard the replay of “Free flower” (title of a song) continuously. This showed that a new force was stepped in and intervened. Since I could not receive the Citizens radio signal even next to its antenna in Victoria Park, it represented an additional "third-party force” was interfering to the radio channels. This force also set up mobile antenna in Victoria Park in order to cover all the airwaves in the Victoria Park! We hardly know if it was the Hong Kong government to "clean up the mess" after Chinese government tried a “united front” over the Hong Kong airwaves. I believe only in a few decades when the government declassifies internal documents, we may know the answer.

In Chinese (link : http://www.inmediahk.net/node/1007266 )

Written by: Yuuji
Translated: Michelle