Portuguese World Style

Author: Yao Yuexiu
Author Country: China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: In the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government placed great importance on efforts to win the understanding of the world people for the new China. One of the important means for this was foreign language broadcasting. Against this backdrop, the government decided to establish Spanish-language foreign broadcasting in 1955. In October of that year, my classmate Yang Lin and I were transferred from Beijing Foreign Studies University to the Foreign Broadcasting Department of the Central Broadcasting Administration to participate in this work. At that time, the entire Spanish-language group consisted of five Spanish experts from Moscow and one Russian translator, and the translator was Comrade Yuexiu. My classmate and I had only studied Spanish for two and a half years and couldn't help much. Sometimes the experts translated from English or Russian manuscripts into Spanish, and sometimes Yuexiu would hold a Chinese manuscript and read it in Russian to the experts, who would then type it into Spanish manuscripts. This was how the Spanish-language broadcasting of the new China began. Later, she learned while working and gradually mastered Spanish. In 1960, the government decided to establish Portuguese-language foreign broadcasting, and she was transferred to the Portuguese-language group again. She learned while working and mastered Portuguese. From then on, she devoted 27 years of her life to Portuguese-language foreign broadcasting. Many foreign broadcasting workers of the new China had similar life experiences, but Yuexiu was one of the most representative. In her position as a foreign broadcaster, she introduced China to the Portuguese-speaking world through the radio waves and, at the same time, introduced the Portuguese-speaking world and its culture to the Chinese people, building a bridge of communication between the people.
Portugal is a small country located on the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, with the Atlantic Ocean on its western coast. It covers an area of over 92,000 square kilometers, and its population was only about 1.5 million in the early 16th century. However, this small country adapted to the needs of the productivity and foreign trade development of Western European countries. In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, it was the first to explore sea routes from Europe to the East, becoming one of the world's major maritime powers at the time. Not only did it occupy vast territories in the Americas and Africa, but its territory in the East extended from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Malacca Strait. Of course, Portugal's historical glory was very short-lived. In 1580, it was annexed by the rising maritime power of Spain and only regained independence in 1640. The history of the Portuguese colonial empire was undoubtedly forged with fire and blood, but it should also be recognized that the Portuguese had an extremely strong spirit of exploration, initiative, and adventure, and played a significant role in world history. Today, there are "seven Portuguese-speaking countries" in the world, and the number of Portuguese speakers exceeds 200 million. Since 1553, Portugal has occupied the Chinese territory of Macau and has implemented colonial rule for about four and a half centuries. However, Macau has objectively played a role as a bridge for Sino-Western cultural exchange. In the process of modern world history development, the culture of the Portuguese-speaking world has gradually become an important part of world culture. For us, understanding the entire world culture is indispensable to understanding the culture of the Portuguese-speaking world. In the book, Yuexiu introduces the Portuguese-speaking world and its culture through her own experiences and research. At the same time, she tells her life story of working in Spanish and Portuguese foreign broadcasting, giving the book its unique characteristics.
Excerpt: The headquarters are in the center of Lisbon, and the deputy general manager, Fernando, warmly welcomed me and introduced the general situation of the 31 branches. Then he said, "The one managed by Elena is excellent in our company. Welcome you to interview." After sitting down in Elena's office, I asked her directly, "As a manager, how do you keep your employees' enthusiasm high?" Elena said, "Their enthusiasm doesn't need me to worry about it. Each employee is very satisfied with their work: working 44 hours a week, with the lowest monthly wage of 46,000 escudos (150 escudos equal 1 U.S. dollar, the national minimum wage in Portugal was 200 U.S. dollars), working on holidays with double pay. There is one month of vacation each year, during which, in addition to the original salary, you can receive a vacation allowance equivalent to your salary. You also receive double pay during Christmas. That is, you work for 11 months and receive 14 months' salary. You have lunch at the store and receive a subsidy (about 2 U.S. dollars per day). Your salary increases once a year. Employees who are capable, hardworking, and have good relationships with colleagues and customers will receive a larger salary increase. It is completely based on individual work ability and service attitude. There is no discrimination among employees." When I asked if they took disciplinary action against underperforming employees, Elena said, "We don't fire employees unless they commit illegal acts like theft. Moreover, there are no underperforming employees in my store. Everyone works hard to get salary and position promotions. People are always striving to improve." "Striving for promotion opportunities? Isn't there only one manager, one deputy manager, and six sales team leaders in your store? There shouldn't be many opportunities for promotion, should there?" I asked. "No, our store is constantly expanding, and we need new managers and team leaders to open new branches." "How do you lead this store? What difficulties do you face in your work?" Elena thought for a moment and said, "As a manager, I receive instructions from the higher leadership. The managers of each branch go to the headquarters for a meeting every week to report on their work and receive instructions. After returning to the store, I hold a team meeting once a week to convey the higher leadership's instructions and discuss the business of the store." Elena looked at her watch and said, "Today is Friday, and we have a team meeting at 5 o'clock. The meeting will last for four or five hours." At this moment, a male employee came into the manager's office. Elena introduced him as, "He is the deputy manager, my good assistant, Mr. Cerfim. Two years ago, we bought a branch from the 'Sweet Bread' store, and Mr. Cerfim came with us. We cooperate very well. There are 78 employees in our store, 80 percent of whom are women, and they are divided into six teams led by team leaders. Everyone works together, and there are no difficulties." She paused and added, "We Portuguese are very obedient." Then she smiled sweetly.