Perspectives
by Lia Sciortino
Perspectives
China’s PR Problem Rears Its Head
Johanna Son
.bmp)
CHIANG MAI, Dec 11 (TerraViva/IPS Asia-Pacific) - Powerful neighbour. A rising power. Old friend. Big, secretive investor. Big boy of the region.
These were some of the terms participants at a talk-show format discussion at the Mekong Media Forum used when asked to share the images of China they get from the media.
Reading Media
Johanna Son
BANGKOK -- Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia. What images might these words conjure up in the minds of international consumers of news? Perhaps war, maybe the Khmer Rouge. Or they might say, ‘Oh, it’s that those countries that had that war some time ago. . . they’re near one another, and they’re all the same’.
China: Benign Bully of the Mekong?
Johanna Son
SYDNEY, Oct 3 (IPS Asia-Pacific) – Over the last decade or so, China’s deft use of soft power has seen South-east Asian neighbours’ view of it change from a looming threat to a largely friendly, if still imposing, giant to the north.
July 2008
Cockfighting and Avian Flu
Khamdeng Thounlevilay, Producer, National Film Archive and Video Center, Lao PDR
In the midst of excitement during a game or a sporting event, safety is not on top of the minds of participants and spectators. In the thrill of a cockfight, breeders, caretakers and gamblers may disregard the risk of contracting avian flu.
This is why in Lao PDR, cockfighting arenas are banned by the authorities in big cities like Vientiane. They are allowed only in remote communities, where it is easier to screen the animals. Authorities from both Laos and Thailand have also prohibited the transporting of birds across the Lao-Thai border.
Cooperation Between Laos and Thailand for Bird Flu Prevention & Control
Lamngeune Latsaath, Producer, Lao National Television
The bird flu outbreak of 2007 in Lao PDR was far more grave than the country’s previous experiences with the disease. The Second Friendship Bridge, which links Laos to Thailand and Vietnam, has brought not only trade to the province, but also carriers of the avian flu virus. It spread in four provinces in the country, and affected human beings, something that the Lao people have not experienced.
This comprehensive account of Lao PDR’s experience with bird flu by Lamngeune Latsaath shows the resourcefulness and resilience of a threatened population.
The Miracle of Love
Our Village
Cheap Chinese Products in Laos
Ethnic Jarai villagers in Ratanakiri
Ethnic Jarai villagers in Ratanakiri
2 Mekong Fellows Win Journalism Prizes in Cambodia
Two Cambodian journalists who were part of the Imaging Our Mekong programme, Leang Delux and Ung Chansophea, won prizes in the Investigative Journalism Awards Competition organised by the Club of Cambodian Journalists with the support of the U.S. Embassy. Our congratulations to both of them!
CAMBODIA: Locals, Lawyers Prepare for Battle over Land
By Andrew Nette
RATANAKIRI, Cambodia, Jul 10 (IPS) - In thick forest in the north-east Cambodian province of Ratanakiri, a team of lawyers uses a global positioning satellite handset to mark the location of traditional spirit forests and gravesites belonging to local Jarai villagers.
VIETNAM: On the Trail of Smugglers
Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh, Reporters, Vietnam Digital Television (VTC), Vietnam
At the Vietnam-China frontier area, authorities spend sleepless nights. The place is a hotspot for smugglers, especially those who illegally transport chicken from China to Vietnam via different roads.
To make this daring documentary, Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh pretended to be tourists and interviewed an illegal transporter who guided them through the dark and complicated world of chicken smugglers.
What’s more alarming than the illegality of the act is the possibility that these law breakers are facilitating the spreading of the H5N1 virus or avian flu.
Mekong's Avian Flu
UID).jpg)
What's New
Mekong ICT Camp 2010
The Mekong ICT Camp (http://mekongict.org), a biannual training workshop on information, communication, and technologies for citizen media, community health, and civil society practitioners in Mekong subregion, is accepting applications until Mar. 31, 2010. Participants are welcome from the Mekong countries, including Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
COMING SOON: 'TALKING GENDER IN THE MEKONG MEDIA'
.jpg)
BANGKOK - Do media organisations in the Mekong Region think that gender sensitivity, including giving voices to women, is part of doing better stories? How do they define it within the context of their societies and how do they report on different genders and sexuality? Do they include the use of gender-friendly language in their stylebooks and training programmes? How much is using a gender lens a news habit?