If Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez thought he could shut down Radio Caracas Television simply by failing to renew the station’s license, he didn’t count on the way the technology of a globalized world has made this all but impossible.

RCTV will be continuing its daily broadcast of the news program “El Observador”—on YouTube. The program will also be aired nightly at midnight through its affiliate Caracol, in Columbia, on its international signal.

The oldest station in Venezuela (it has been airing for 53 years), RCTV has found a way around the government regulations through technology.

In another example of the way globalization has changed the rules for Latin American television, Mexican broadcaster Televisa announced this week that it is expanding to China.

Televisa is opening an office in Shanghai next week, where it will make Chinese versions of its popular telenovelas and reality shows in Mandarin.

To avoid getting into trouble with the Chinese government, the Mexican broadcaster has agreed to air China’s government-run channel CCTV in Mexico, which will be dubbed into Spanish. Kind of a we’ll-play-your propaganda, you-play-our-telenovelas deal.

Mexican telenovelas are already popular in China, where four shows have been dubbed into Mandarin for Chinese audiences. Televisa’s new shows, the first Mexican-Chinese co-productions using local Chinese actors, will most likely be even more popular.

As for how the Chinese government’s TV programs will play out in Mexico, I’m not so sure. – Elena Shore