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.
Documentaries
Chicken Smuggling
Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh, Reporters, Vietnam Digital Television (VTC), Vietnam
At the Vietnam-China frontier area, authorities spend sleepless nights. The place is a hotspot for smugglers, especially those who illegally transport chicken from China to Vietnam via different roads.
To make this daring documentary, Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh pretended to be tourists and interviewed an illegal transporter who guided them through the dark and complicated world of chicken smugglers.
VIETNAM: On the Trail of Smugglers
Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh, Reporters, Vietnam Digital Television (VTC), Vietnam
At the Vietnam-China frontier area, authorities spend sleepless nights. The place is a hotspot for smugglers, especially those who illegally transport chicken from China to Vietnam via different roads.
To make this daring documentary, Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh pretended to be tourists and interviewed an illegal transporter who guided them through the dark and complicated world of chicken smugglers.
What’s more alarming than the illegality of the act is the possibility that these law breakers are facilitating the spreading of the H5N1 virus or avian flu.
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.
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?