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.
Hoi An Lives with Tourism Pains
By Sutthida Malikaew
HOI AN, Vietnam - “More people come to Hoi An, but I can sell less,” Kim Chi, owner of an art gallery in this central Vietnamese town, says in a bored tone.
Chi’s gallery, which she inherited from her father, has been in business for the last 12 years. Most of its artwork was collected from artists across Vietnam, as well as from her brother, an artist based in Ho Chi Minh City.
Chi, in her early 50s, says that up to the time Hoi An was named a World Heritage City by UNESCO in 1999, her business was doing very well because there was less competition. Now there are almost 200 galleries in this very small city, making competition stiff and business difficult. But even so, she is happy to live in a World Heritage City because it has improved her economic status. Part of the reason is that she owns the building that houses the gallery, unlike many other businesses which have to rent space for about one million dong a month (62 U.S. dollars).
Another gallery owner, 30 year-old Toan, also gathers paintings from all over the country. Her artist husband also paints many of the pictures on display. Though Toan also owns her property, she still faces difficulties because of the increased competition. “It is true that more people drop in, but they don’t buy. I don’t know why,” laments Toan.
But Toan is an optimistic person. She sees opportunities even in this bleak climate. Toan opens her gallery everyday, hoping for that elusive sale. But dedication to work also means less time to travel around with her husband.
Art galleries are a good indicator of a city’s tourism industry. Galleries have flourished in this ancient city of Hoi An since its inclusion in the World Heritage list in 1999. The listing brought in more tourism and more business opportunities which suit the Vietnamese lifestyle.
TRADING HUB
Hoi An used to be a major trading hub in South-east Asia between the 15th and 19th centuries, when it was known as Faifo. It was an international port where ships came in to exchange commodities between the East and West. Many merchants from China, Japan, Portugal, Netherlands and Italy came to Hoi An on business. This splendid legacy is still intact in Hoi An in its harmonious combination of Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese architecture.
The combination of local industriousness and international trade turned local people into good businessmen, able to adapt to the shifting business climate. Even today, locals swiftly change their original occupation to sell souvenirs in order to take advantage of the tourism business. That is the reason why, in the last seven years, galleries and lantern shops have sprouted like mushrooms in the last seven years.
Even quick-service tailor shops have been proliferating, charging on average 250-300 U.S. dollars for a business suit, 50 to 70 dollars for ladies’ dress, and 10 to 25 for trousers and skirts – all delivered within three to four hours.
Aside from buying souvenirs and artwork, locals have also explored service jobs in the tourism sector, learning a foreign language and becoming tourist guides. Take the example of Chinh, a native of Hoi An in his late 40s, who resigned his job as an English teacher to become a tourist guide to cater to the growing tourist arrivals.
The average salary of a teacher is about one million dong (62 dollars), but the income of a tourist guide depends on the language he or she speaks. A German language guide makes the most in salaries among tour guides, making as much 300 dollars a month. An English- language guide makes around 200 dollars a month. Tips and other commissions bring in extra. No wonder that being a tour guide is considered a lucrative profession for young people.
Such new job opportunities are luring local youth to come back to stay in their own city. That is a departure from the past when many ambitious youth ventured elsewhere for education and jobs.
Says Thao, a receptionist at a local hotel: “The positive point in being a World Heritage City is that the young people are coming back after graduating because jobs were available here.” Many of these jobs are in the hotel and tourism industry. An employee in a four- star hotel can easily make up to 200 dollars a month, she adds. As for herself, Thao, who works in a three-star hotel, makes between 75 and 100 dollars, enough to cover her personal expenses, only because she lives in her parents’ house and does not have to pay rent.
Asked if tourism has made a noticeable difference in the city, Thao sighs: “For ordinary people I think they still have the same way of living. But the rich have gotten richer, and the poor have become poorer.” She noted that rich people are investing heavily in hotels and resorts. There are 70 hotels in Hoi An alone, owned mostly by investors from Ho Chi Minh city, Danang or from foreign countries.
Tourism is a double-edged sword, bringing much needed economic activity but also pitfalls like prostitution. Thao particularly dislikes the sight of young Vietnamese women hanging around with foreign men. While some of these women married the foreign men, it has also caused some local women to divorce their husbands to be with their foreign lovers.
Another ill brought about by tourism is the constant horde of hagglers who follows and harass tourists to buy their stuff. “Some tourists have to wear T-shirts that say ‘No…’ this and that so that those vendors won’t follow them. Also, too many goods are hung at storefronts, obscuring the view of local architecture, which the tourists want to see. They don’t want to do shopping all the time… Already the city seems to have turned into a tailor-shop city,” complains Thao.
Thao’s complaints unfortunately ring true. While local entrepreneurs strive to sell souvenirs and trinkets to tourists, most of them forget that many tourists come here in the first place to see the famous fusion of local and foreign culture embodied in the city’s architecture. Fortunately, the local government of Hoi An has realised this and have tried to maintain a balance between promoting tourism and preserving culture. (END/IOM/SM/SP/06)
*Sutthida Malikaew, who contributes to Prachatai.com, wrote this story under an assignment under the Imaging Our Mekong media fellowship programme (www.newsmekong.org)
Mekong's Avian Flu
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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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