Kolkata’s only Chinese daily on shaky ground

man named Yep, the founding editor, in 1969. Now, the editor is C J Chen, who started working here about a decade ago. Chen conducts his business from his office in Tangra, which also doubles as the office of the Tangra Tanners’ Association.

With absolutely no reporters on the staff, the publication depends heavily on newsletters and other newspapers for content. The reports are then translated into Chinese. ‘‘The paper contains mostly international news and some local news,’’ says Chen. ‘‘Earlier everything used to be done manually, but now we depend on computers,’’ he adds.

A special edition, in red ink, was printed for the Chinese New Year. But arranging for finance for the organisation and its ten staffers is difficult. ‘‘We spend about Rs 50,000 in a month for the publication. Most of the revenue comes from local advertisements,’’ says Chen.

Having left China to settle in Kolkata in 1949, Chen is way past his prime and worries about the future of the paper. ‘‘We are all growing old, and we don’t know what will happen to this paper after us,’’ he adds.

‘‘The future is not very good. The number of readers is dwindling and the new generation is not much interested,’’ he admits.

In the last few years, the circulation has gone down from 500 to about 300 now. Each copy is priced at Rs 2.50.

And while the future seems uncertain, it would be a shame to see this unique publication shut down — a loss to the city’s culture and its cosmopolitan identity.