Limited access to the South China Morning Post’s website often means many stories slip by unnoticed - well in my case anyway. This is regrettable given the range of some of its news coverage, much of which you can’t find anywhere else. On Wednesday, Stephen Chen reported for the SCMP (no web link for the above reason) on a protest outside Xinhua’s Sichuan headquarters in Chengdu.
More than 50 villagers protested outside Xinhua’s Sichuan headquarters in Chengdu yesterday, saying the official news agency had faked a news report about job creation.
The protesters, mostly women from Wenjiang and Chenghua districts, massed in front of the Xinhua building at about 2pm with a petition demanding the agency correct a news report about district government successes in creating jobs for dispossessed villagers, witness Huang Qi said.
Mr Huang said a Xinhua official accepted the letter but told villagers that agency leaders and journalists who wrote the article were not in the office, and so no decision about a correction could be made any time soon.
Xinhua reported that 70 per cent of landless villagers were employed, thanks to the efforts of the Wenjiang district government leadership.
“We, 200,000 landless villagers in Wenjiang have never seen you reporters,” the petition says. “The fact is most of us are jobless, hungry and homeless.
“We have been arrested, beaten up and robbed by local officials. But you never listened to us.”
Wenjiang villager Li Chunfeng said the highest payout to a family for their land was 8,000 yuan, plus a 100 yuan monthly subsidy.
“Many villagers remain unemployed seven years after the government took their land. No men went to the protest today, because they are afraid of being arrested,” she said.
Calls to Xinhua’s Chengdu office went unanswered yesterday.
Apart from the obvious, one of the most worrying aspects of this story is that no one deigns to pick up the phone at one of the main bureaus of a news agency. Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone in the Chengdu bureau and given the view tentatively put forward recently that this blog might be losing the agency too much face, I think that is probably the last we will hear of it. Still, I shall recall this particular incident when I next edit stories about fake news hotlines or laudations of the wealth of employment opportunities open to untrained hersdmen from Xinjiang/Tibet/Inner Mongolia that seem to have increased in recent months.
If I may continue my tribute to the SCMP … Also on Wednesday was a story by Bill Savadove comparing the media coverage of the Hunan bridge disaster to the way the collapse of the Minneapolis bridge was reported in the United States. It drew attention to a story on the front page of the China Daily that appears to have less taste than Xinhua canteen’s head chef and also mentioned Homer Simpson’s brain for good measure.
Even as state media was updating the death toll from the fatal bridge collapse in Hunan province , readers of China Daily saw the front-page headline: “Thousands of unsafe bridges to be fixed.”
Was it simply tragic irony? Or an attempt at a pre-emptive propaganda strike against bad news to come? Regardless, it could be embarrassing for the central government’s English-language mouthpiece, which has sought to become more appealing.
“The collapse of the 40-year-old Minneapolis bridge in the United States on August 1 also highlighted the need to fix decaying public infrastructure before it is too late,” the article said.
The mainland had more than 6,000 damaged or dangerous bridges which needed to be fixed or rebuilt, a government ministry said. No mention was made of the Hunan disaster.
Xinhua reported the collapse of the bridge in Fenghuang county at 10.27pm on Monday, six hours after it occurred.
Coverage of the two incidents is a study in contrasts between US media and the mainland’s state-controlled media, which is still struggling with a fabricated television report about dumplings stuffed with cardboard and the use of a Homer Simpson image to illustrate a Xinhua story about multiple sclerosis.
US broadcaster CNN quickly went live with news of the Minnesota bridge collapse, taking witnesses’ calls and showing viewers’ photographs. Mainland reporters were told to use Xinhua reports for the Hunan case.
The mainland has recorded several bridge failures, often blamed on shoddy building or corruption, which prompts builders to cut corners. Two months ago, a bridge in Guangdong province collapsed when a sand barge hit it. Nine people were killed.
In 1999, the then-premier Zhu Rongji complained about “tofu construction” after a bridge in Sichuan province collapsed, killing more than 40 people.
In 1998, a scandal hit Ningbo when a 2,500-metre bridge at the mouth of the Yong River cracked a month before it was to open and the two ends did not meet in the middle. A further three years was needed to rebuild the bridge, and 40 officials were said to have lost their jobs.
This article mentions “mainland reporters were told to use Xinhua reports for the Hunan case”, which is clearly a major problem. As I have said before, some Xinhua local bureau reporters go out of their way to find the facts behind disasters in very difficult situations and others would rather wait for the information to come in the form of a local government statement. In the case of the Hunan bridge, it appears the Beijing Times is finding out its own information, as shown in this report by Reuters via the Sydney Morning Herald.
“The ruptured parts of the bridge show broken stones; also, it was a clean break. It’s obvious the quality was too poor,” the Beijing News quoted an architecture expert as saying.
Xinhua reporters can also come up with a crucial quote but often it just touches upon a huge issue and leaves you dangling. Take this line from an unnamed local official, that inspired the Reuters story linked above (this quote was Xinhua’s not China Daily’s).
“While the cause of the collapse is still unknown, a local official at the scene said that a ‘traditional-and-risky’ model of bridge, made of stone and concrete, had been chosen over a steel structure to ensure it remained ‘in harmony with the natural environment’,” the China Daily said.
When I received the quote in its original form, it made little sense. Something about how concrete complemented nature. On asking for clarification, the key points about harmonious environment and the absence of steel emerged but the official remained unnamed. I later found out he was the deputy director of the communications department and a “bridge expert”, whatever that means. I asked my colleague to call the local reporter and ask him or her to try and interview the official again for some more detail as it seemed the official was willing to talk to Xinhua about an issue in which he claimed to have expertise. Ask someone to ask someone else to ask someone else. That is the frustrating level of efficiency at work in the office. The reporter was unavailable and the opportunity was gone, once again leaving us with fragments of information and the overall picture unexplained.
Tom | 17-Aug-07 at 11:59 am | Permalink
While the SCMP does have much better coverage of mainland news than mainland papers do, it’s not without its flaws.
For a start, its writers and editors often have a very shaky grasp of the English language, but that doesn’t usually hurt the story too much.
More worrying is their tendency to self-censor in favour of the government, such as in their recent report on the rising price of pork but curiously omitting any mention of the giant porcine disease that was ravaging the country at the time.
Still, it’s better than nothing. Could do with a better crossword, mind.
bob phillips | 18-Aug-07 at 5:39 am | Permalink
maybe the reporters are a little edgy…
“Chinese journalists probing a bridge collapse that killed dozens of people said they were harassed and beaten by local thugs, exposing the state-run media’s see-saw struggle between control and candour.”
look at
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PEK223632.htm
Chris O'Brien | 19-Aug-07 at 7:18 pm | Permalink
Tom: You are right, I’m sure it has its limitations - they have let me write for them in the past. Unfortunately, I don’t have regular access to the paper so I’m not versed in the levels of censorship at work there. From what I have seen there are quite a few “negative” stories though. I wrote one story for the paper about protesters being arrested for protesting about human rights in China outside the human rights exhibition in Beijing last year. But, as I said, I write this in ignorance. I’m sure you could quote more pork-like examples - we even managed to include the reference to the blue ear disease in Xinhua copy.
Bob, thanks for the link - it never stops does it. I presume it is now only Xinhua releasing Publicity Department statements.
David D | 20-Aug-07 at 10:51 am | Permalink
Some of the SCMP reporters don’t have great English - the one’s who are not native speakers for instance. Their stories go to a sub editor who clears up those problems. All copy ends up in Hong Kong where it is edited once again by very experienced journalists. Sometimes quotes appear in slightly stilted English because a more interpretive approach to translation can miss out subtle but important details. A misplaced comma may occasionally rear an ugly head.
It is a daily paper so sometimes depth has to be sacrificed in order for the journalist to finish the story within just a few hours. If more details can be confirmed later the story may be returned to.
Scmp.com currently has a free 7-day trial. If you would like to read online articles about blue ear disease in pigs then you can do so here. From SCMP.com:
“The cost of pork - a main staple meat - has surged by more than 70 per cent since June … Many farmers have stopped raising pigs following an outbreak of blue ear disease earlier this year, fearing they could lose their investment.”
If you want to judge how controversial the paper is you could consider one of four things. 1. Actually reading the paper. 2. The fact that it’s available in various countries throughout Asia but not on newsstands on the mainland. 3. The more controversial articles appear with the byline “staff reporter” (for the safety of that reporter). 4. The paper is the winner of a number of human rights awards.
China Daily it is not.
Chris O'Brien | 20-Aug-07 at 11:14 am | Permalink
Cheers David - was hoping you would feel inclined to put in your two pennies’ worth given your SCMP know-how. Unfortunately my trial is finished - didn’t really get chance to make the most of it. Feel free to send me your login details though …
mike | 20-Aug-07 at 1:53 pm | Permalink
david - you forgot to add just how piss poor scmp has been as a serious regional newspaper over the last five years. It used to have a half decent content but is now challenging Singapore’s Straits Times as contender for the Asian newspaper style over substance award.
michael | 20-Aug-07 at 2:08 pm | Permalink
The SCMP used to do some of the best independent reporting from Greater China. Now it is bland pro-government mouthpiece and has no web presence. A conspiracy theorist might suggest this has been done at the behest of Beijing.
Chris O'Brien | 20-Aug-07 at 2:48 pm | Permalink
More on the reporters being beaten at Fenghuang:
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20070820_1.htm
Tom | 20-Aug-07 at 3:33 pm | Permalink
“All copy ends up in Hong Kong where it is edited once again by very experienced journalists.”
Allow me to arch one eyebrow theatrically. Some days it’s like the Grauniad of the old classic joke era.
David D | 21-Aug-07 at 4:04 pm | Permalink
I can send you my login details Chris, though all that pro-government content may turn your head.
I noticed that a few stories have been blocked today, which must be a bizzare mistake on the part of the net nanny. You will have to use a proxy such as stupidcensorship.com to access stories (presumably spoon-fed straight from Beijing) such as this:
A rather secretive branch of the People’s Liberation Army has been expanding, despite a general trend of downsizing in the army, to cope with growing social unrest on the mainland.
The People’s Armed Police was set up in 1983 to maintain internal security.
It is administered by both the State Council through the Ministry of Public Security and the PLA’s Central Military Commission.
Official figures on the size of the paramilitary force, like a lot of other military data, are top secret, but there are varying estimates, with some saying up to 1 million.
Antony Wong Dong, president of the International Military Association in Macau, said western military experts put the number at somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 personnel.
A substantial number of new recruits to the force were among those trimmed from the PLA, Mr Wong added.
“This force is something between the police and the army. Their combat ability is superb and better than the police, given their military background,” he said.
Some observers have said that the armed police are expanding their ranks during a period of frequent demonstrations, riots and disputes spawned by rampant corruption and social injustice which, in turn, are the result of the government’s blind pursuit of economic growth.
In one of the worst recent flare-ups, armed police shot dead at least three villagers involved in land dispute protests in Shanwei , Guangdong, on December 6, 2005.
Mr Wong said that with their military background, armed police had gained notoriety over the years for their tendency to resort to violence more often than other disciplinary forces.
“Unlike police officers who are taught to comply with the law, the armed police are trained to combat problems with violence and speed,” he said.
On top of the expansion in personnel, the force’s weapons have also been upgraded. Mr Wong said armed police officers were now equipped with more specialised weapons.
“There are some weapons that will keep someone under control without harming them. This has become an issue, especially since the crackdown on students in Tiananmen in 1989,” he said.
The force has also acquired new duties throughout the years, one of them being a counterterrorism mission.
Those duties have gained more importance since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
In 2003, Mei Xingrun , the armed police’s commander in Xinjiang , where a Muslim separatist movement has been a thorn in the government’s side, told Xinhua that military spending had been increased to crush the “terrorists” in the region.
With the 2008 Beijing Olympics looming closer, the armed police, together with the police, will be responsible for ensuring the Games go smoothly.
The government has vowed to send 3,000 armed police officers to patrol every day when Beijing launches a rehearsal of the Games this month.
According to Mr Wong, units are also trained to prepare for any possible conflict with Taiwan.
Other responsibilities include guarding forests, gold mines, hydroelectric power infrastructure and transport.
mike | 22-Aug-07 at 1:44 pm | Permalink
david: pro-government, anti-government. shit by any name still smells the same.
(btw, does scmp still take its china stories from BFLU english graduate students trained to write by their “professor” bosco)