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.
BUSTLING BORDERS: REPORTAGE FROM OUR MEKONG, 140 pp.
From the craggy, grey scenery of Tibet to the warm green and brown colours of the Mekong Delta, this book gives readers snapshots of some of the key issues of the day in the Mekong Region -- drugs, migration, border trade, wildlife trade, ethnic identity, infrastructure development. The book is the third compilation of in-depth articles and photo essays on transboundary issues done by journalists from the six Mekong countries -- the journalists who know their region best, and have a stake in its development. The writers and photojournalists who contributed to this book, from Cambodia, China, Burma, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, are the third group of fellows who have completed the Imaging Our Mekong programme, coordinated by Inter Press Service (IPS) Asia-Pacific and Probe Media Foundation Inc (PMFI). The book is available at Suriwong Bookstore in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Monument Books in Cambodia, and at the IPS Asia-Pacific and PMFI offices. For inquiries, write ipsasia@newsmekong.org
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?
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