BANGKOK, Mar 14 (IPS Asia-Pacific) - One of the most visible signs
of regional integration in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) is
the emergence of a network of transnational routes that increase
interconnectivity of transport, power and market systems,
facilitating interaction among Mekong countries and positioning them
as gateways between China, India and other South-east Asian
countries.
But this boom in large-scale construction projects shrouds another
kind of interconnectivity that is less visible, but whose impacts
are no less profound: a rise in the exchanges of television and
radio airwaves, leading to greater exchanges of information and
ideas across borders. Transnational broadcasting is affecting the
mind-set of people in the region, transforming their values and
lifestyles, and thus challenging ways in which information is
controlled and national identities defined.
In the GMS countries, the government, military and leading political
parties dominate the broadcasting sector. Governments own media
frequencies, decide on licensing and granting concessions to the
private sector, and enforce strict censorship rules for sensitive
subjects. In Thailand, the Thaksin administration disapproved of
criticism of its performance, while the Council for Democratic
Reform that replaced it now monitors reporting on the former Prime
Minister himself. In Myanmar, no reporting of democratic leader Aung
San Suu Kyi is allowed and in Vietnam, media organisations can be
closed if disrespectful of prominent Communist Party figures.
Broadcasters are expected to be the guardians of national culture,
and contribute to the formation of good citizens by promoting
patriotism and nationalistic ideologies. Religious and ethnic issues
are to be presented in non-confrontational terms and without
touching on sensitive issues. Moral discourses define good and
bad in society and set the limits for sexual mores. In China, Laos
and Vietnam, media inform the people about state policies and help
the government fight social evils -- all forms of deviant
behaviour from prostitution and gambling to drug abuse.
It is in this context that regional integration and technological
progress come into play.
MORE CHOICES
Even those Mekong countries that in the 1980s barely had access to
television broadcasting began in Laos in 1983 and re-emerged in
Cambodia in 1979 can today view myriad international programmes,
thanks to foreign investments in local stations and the adoption of
satellite dishes. A few years ago, audiences had to content
themselves with Western stations broadcasting in English and French,
but they can now tune in to neighbouring countries programmes as
well.
Cambodia is a case in point. Thai-sourced television content forms a
sizable share of its programming, and TV5, one of its most popular
television stations, is partly Thai-operated. Regional satellite
networks such as Star TV (Hong Kong) and UBC (Thailand) provide
Asian-language, in addition to English-language, services to at
least 10 percent of Phnom Penh households. Viewers can also watch
Vietnam Television programmes and will soon be able to follow
Chinese TV programmes, following an agreement between Chinas
Guangxi TV and Cambodian Cable TV.
Radio is somewhat behind, but is also becoming more diversified.
Voice of the New Life broadcasts in Vietnamese, Cambodian Radio
provides two 15-minute programmes daily in Thai, Lao and Vietnamese,
and China Radio International (CRI) will start on-line broadcasting
in Cambodian and Mandarin. Residents of border areas have even
greater access to TV and radio from neighbouring countries because
they fall within the range of their transmitters -- and are familiar
with the languages of these programmes.
HOPES AND FEARS
This collaboration in telecommunications, especially when done at
the inter-state level, as it is often the case in the GMS, has been
hailed for fostering harmonious relations in the region. In November
2006, Chinese Premier Hu Jintao opened in Vientiane CRIs first FM
station in Asia, calling this joint endeavour with Lao State Radio
an expression of bilateral friendship.
Worries, however, remain about possible threats to national security
stemming from the propagation of other countries views. On one
hand, governments fear that actors from outside the GMS may use one
of the Mekong countries as a base to attack its neighbours. The
Cambodia Daily newspaper, in its Feb. 13 issue, reported that
Cambodian Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith reminded local
stations not to transfer licences to foreign partners. It could be
problematic if an anti-Hanoi organisation was able to broadcast in
Cambodia, the newspaper reported, quoting Kanharith as saying it
would make the country a media battlefield. On the other hand,
against the backdrop of the regions divisive history, others fear
that transnational broadcasts may become yet another tool of
penetration by more powerful neighbouring countries, which already
dominate the region through trade and investments.
The penetration of decadent moral values has been singled out as
one of the most harmful impacts of more open communication.
CULTURAL CLASHES
Thailand is often viewed as the main culprit here given the success
of its broadcast industry, its more liberalised culture, and its
different political ideology vis-à-vis socialist-oriented
neighbours. Audiences in the GMS enjoy Thai entertainment programmes
and news. In Cambodia as in Laos, Thai soap operas and Thai movie
stars and singers influence the way people speak, act and dress. In
rural and urban areas, young people are drawn by Thailands
portrayal on TV screens and aspire for the affluent, easy and trendy
lifestyles that lie just across the border. Some actually try this,
although their migration stories lead to endings quite different
from that seen in television and radio scripts.
This enthusiasm about things Thai worries government officials who
dread a Thaisation of their culture. In Laos, some worry that the
Lao language, already quite similar to Thai, is becoming
contaminated with Thai slang and words, and may eventually lose it
distinctness. What is more, much of the Thai content is not
considered culturally appropriate. Thai programmes are said to
contain an exaggerated amount of sex and violence by local
standards. Explicit sexual behaviour is considered un-Laotian, and
so too are the portrayed Thai youths predilection for wildly
coloured hair and short skirts.
To contain cultural domination by their neighbour, Laos and
Cambodia have regularly issued temporary bans on the airing of Thai
programmes. But governments are also trying to control information
at the source -- before it spills over into their country through
diplomatic pressure tied to Thailands trade and security interests.
In February, the Lao Ministry of Information and Culture protested
the screening of the movie Love Song on the Banks of the Mekong on
Thai Channel 7. The characterisation of the Laotian prima donna as
an illegitimate child, too prone to falling in love with a Thai boy,
caused much distress because it was seen as typical of Thailand, but
not of Laos.
A more fair handling by the Thai entertainment industry of its
neighbouring countries history and culture would undoubtedly serve
Thailand -- and the region -- well, limiting unnecessary tensions
and resentment. The realisation of an integrated Mekong community is
dependent on member countries learning to respect one another, and
media plays a key role in this.
MEDIA AT A CROSSROADS
Still, how can be it ensured that increased cooperation in
telecommunications and the resolution of cultural clashes do not
prejudice the development of a more open media climate for the GMS?
It could be counterproductive if the dominant regime of information
control is reinforced by one-sided dominance of the airwaves and
transnational compliance in the name of cultural sensitivity.
Countering stereotypes and misconceptions and the building of common
trust may actually require an open debate on those same
sensitivities. Improving the quality of national broadcasting may
actually be a more effective strategy to win viewers and listeners
and foster more equitable relations with foreign broadcasters,
rather than trying to stem the transnational flow of information and
entertainment.
It would be ironic indeed if the fear of the other prevails at a
time when geo-political borders are supposed to be more relaxed, and
airwaves are barred from flowing across the region in the same way
the Mekong River does.
Send feedback to info@newsmekong.org
*Rosalia Sciortino, better known as Lia, is a cultural anthropologist and development
sociologist by training, and Associate Professor at the Institute for
Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Thailand. Before
that, she was the regional director of the Rockefeller Foundation in
Thailand, overseeing grant-making activities in South-east Asia with
a special focus on regional integration in the Greater Mekong
Sub-region. She has also worked with the Ford Foundation in
Indonesia and the Philippines, and has published widely on
development issues. A native of Italy, she has lived in Asia for
nearly two decades.