Perspectives
by Lia Sciortino
Perspectives
China’s PR Problem Rears Its Head
Johanna Son
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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
Coping with Avian Flu
Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh, Reporters, Vietnam Digital Television (VTC), Vietnam
After over 4 years of avian flu incidence, are the Vietnamese and the Chinese now fully prepared to combat this threat to health and livelihood?
“China Border” explores the impact of the long bout with the H5N1 virus on the ways of life of poultry farmers in Vietnam and China.
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.
Laos and Thailand Link Up
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.
Cheap Chinese Products in Laos
Souvannaphet Champhone, Lamgneune Latsaath and Somphavanh Khamphachane, Producers, Lao National Television
If you have a limited budget, buy products made in China. This is common knowledge in Laos, where cheap household items, clothes and other consumer goods have been flooding in from the People’s Republic of China.
Lao businessmen, however, are protesting against their aggressive Chinese competitors. Some allege that the low prices of Chinese products are due to unskilled laborers and low quality machines churning out substandard products. Illegal practices, such as unregistered businesses and tax evasion, are also rampant.
Our Village
Zhang Min Feng, Filmmaker, Yunnan Television
The migration of Vietnamese women to China in order to marry Chinese men and improve their lives is an occurrence familiar to the residents of the Ma Beng village in Vietnam.
“Our Village” follows the life of one such Vietnamese, Yang Xiu Xing. But instead of the good fortune that she and her two children were hoping for in China, they were met by unexpected events that left them reeling.
The Miracle of Love
Lu Mu, Reporter, China Central Television
In addition to blood transfusion, mother-to-child transmission is almost the only way children under the age of 15 can get infected with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
Fortunately, in 2001, an AIDS treatment and prevention research group in Chiang Mai, Thailand developed a new drug which could effectively reduce the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from mother to child.
Through a project of the United Nations’ Children’s Fund and the Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China, Chinese doctors trained in Thailand to learn more about how to block the transmission.
Tracing Human Trafficking
Chonlatis Kaewprasertsom and Chatra Siamthong, Producers, Saradee Company, Thailand
Owing to their geographical locations, Laos and Thailand enjoy close ties. They have similar languages and traditions, and the importation of Thai products to Laos has always been brisk. But unscrupulous people are now taking advantage of the convenient and easy routes between the two countries, and more and more Lao people are becoming victims of human trafficking in Thailand. View Film
Pya'y in Kunming
Pya'y in Kunming
Zhang Lei, Filmmaker, East Asia Institute of Visual Anthropology, Yunnan, China
After a financial crisis in Thailand in the late 1990’s, Thai businessman P’yai decided to take a gamble and explore opportunities in China. Although his first visit to Kunming in 1999 did not meet his expectations, a second visit in 2002 pleasantly surprised him.
VIETNAM: Guidelines Seek to Assist Trafficked Women and Children
HANOI - Trafficked women and children would receive more help to return to Vietnam and integrate back into society with the release of ministry guidelines on effective use of the law, a press conference was told here on June 27.
Mekong's Avian Flu
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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'
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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?