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.
Pya'y in Kunming
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.
P’yai was delighted to see a city transformed in such a short period of time. Facilities were in place, and businesses were thriving. Despite initial difficulties owing to the language barrier, P’yai eventually became a successful entrepreneur in a new land he now calls home.
Zhang Lei filmed the story in Kunming, China to document P’yai’s journey to show how the development of a city can attract migrants, and impact on lives other than those of its inhabitants.
"My message would be merging. This person lives in Kunming, he is more like a normal Chinese citizen there. [I believe] that nations have a lot of similarities and that if a people take the time to learn about a culture they can lead happy lives as migrants," says Zhang Lei.
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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