Working as a reporter in Nairobi for a year and a half, Sui Haixia heard voices from China frequently in the Kenyan capital.

"Whenever I got on to a taxi, the driver would tune in to China Radio International (CRI) FM programmes," said Sui.

"Many of my neighbours there also said they liked the programmes.

"CRI is like a window to China. Local people like to know what is happening in China and what the Chinese views are on local issues in Kenya such as culture and trade," said Sui, who has worked for 15 years with CRI.

Yesterday marked the 65th anniversary of the establishment of CRI as well as broadcasts to the outside.

In a congratulatory letter, Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, praised CRI for its role in introducing China to the world and promoting understanding and friendship.

CRI grew out of a broadcast programme in Japanese by Xinhua Broadcast Station based in Yan'an, Shaanxi Province.

To date, CRI broadcasts in 38 foreign languages, as well as Chinese Mandarin and four Chinese dialects. Its programmes each day add up to more than 1,100 hours. By 2005, CRI had received 2.17 million listeners' letters from 160 countries and regions.

CRI online is one of the major news websites in China providing news services in 43 written languages and 48 broadcast languages, the highest by a radio service in the world.

In Kenya, where radio still remains popular, Sui and her colleague Xie Yi, a Swahili speaking reporter, participated in the launch of China's first overseas radio channel in January.

The local government offered strong support by providing the licence for the channel, the only one given to a foreign service operator after the BBC, Voice of America and Radio French International.

The establishment of the Nairobi radio station is a launch pad for CRI, said Wang Gengnian, director-general of CRI, in September.

CRI Vientiane 93 FM was officially launched last month. It provides more than 12 hours of programmes per day in English, Laotian and Chinese to Lao listeners.

CRI is eventually expected to have 100 FM channels overseas. In comparison, BBC has 145 channels worldwide.

"FM is the future of radio," said Sui.

The CRI has broadcast more than 130 hours of English programmes daily in FM (Frequency Modulation) or AM (Amplitude Modulation) since the early 1990s when it started to purchase or rent time from local radio stations in foreign countries.

The radio station in Kenya broadcasts 19 hours of programmes (from 5 am to 12 pm) in three languages Chinese, English and Swahili, the local language.

Programmes are produced in Beijing and delivered to Nairobi via satellite, and are tailor-made for the local audience.

"You have to make sure what you say is easy for your listeners to relate to and accept," said Wu Manlin, an English news anchorwoman in CRI for 15 years.

For example, in a programme broadcast in Australia, Wu and her colleague introduced "Good day Australia" as a greeting because it is how Australian people greet each other.

The programmes feature the latest news and hot issues in Australia, and information about China and Australia.

"If we don't have local news, local listeners will turn to other channels," Wu said.

The localized programmes reflect the diversified services provided by CRI.

Its English department offers five programmes News & Reporting, Magazine, People in the Know, China Drive and Studio Classroom.

Magazine focuses on lighter topics such as people's daily lives in China, with an interactive section with the listeners through online comments and text messages.

"We hope to meet the demand of more listeners, particularly young listeners, by providing fresh and first-hand material about China," said Yang Lei, director of the English Department.

People in the Know is an interview-based programme targeting international and domestic affairs and polices.

"It offers insights beyond the headlines. It gets into details," said Paul James from Canada, who is one of the three people on the production team.

(China Daily 12/04/2006 page1)