Beijing, 23 Sept. – China’s Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the Chinese and ASEAN media can serve as a bridge for mutual understanding and friendship and help to advance the level of cooperation between China and ASEAN member countries.

Mr. Wang Yi, who addressed delegates at the launch of the first China-ASEAN Media Cooperation Seminar today, said multilateral exchanges should be increased to enhance closer ties between the regional neighbours. He said there is a need for better coordination and cooperation between media organizations in the region to develop a larger voice in the international stage.

The Vice Foreign Minister said: “Cooperation and trust are significant factors for peace and development in this region and we should support each other to close the developmental gap among countries in the region.”

Mr. Wang Yi said China is actively committed to friendly relations with ASEAN and the establishment of a Free Trade Area between China and ASEAN within a decade will be beneficial to all parties in economic and social progress. He said the media can play a constructive role in reporting on developments in the region through an objective and balanced reporting of news.

Mr. Feng Bing, editor-in-chief of the Chinese-language Economic Daily, called on the media delegates to increase reports on the economic developments of countries in the region to provide useful information for the public and private sectors. He said establishing closer economic and technical cooperation among among the regional media can inject more vitality to the news reports in China and ASEAN.

Mr. Wang Guoqing, deputy director of the State Council’s Chinese Information Department criticized the Western media for their biased coverage of Asia and urged the ASEAN media to strive for a voice among the Western-dominated news reportage on the region.

The deputy editor of  The Straits Times, Felix Soh, pointed out that “information imperialism” has been led by Western media agencies pursuing what is in their best interest and dictating what they wish to cover and how they should cover the news. Mr. Soh said their reportage often contain “inherent prejudices and misconceptions” about the region that have been “influenced by Western cultural bias, sullied by political bias and coloured by ideological bias.”

“It is not right for Western news agencies to control information on Asia, “ Mr. Soh said. “We must resist Western dominance of the worldview. The Asian media must report on Asia themselves and not relegate to others this task which may lead to a perpetuation of myths that the Western media portrays. The coverage of Asia should be done ourselves, with understanding and empathy.”

Mr. Soh said while the Western media can provide news that is unmatched in breadth of coverage, the depth of coverage is found wanting. He said a dozen media organizations in Asia, including some ASEAN countries, China, Korea, Japan and India have already established an Asian News Network (ANN) for free news exchanges to enrich the Asian content of their newspapers.

Mr. Soh said there is a need to improve professionalism among journalists and raise improve industry practices with the use of technology. He said private media organizations can take the lead as they are unemcumbered by bureaucratic and political baggage.

“Asia’s media must convey distinctly Asian opinions and strive to end disequilibrium in the global media where the loudest voices are of Western origin,” he stressed. “We as Asia’s media must be heard.”

Akhamad Kusaeni, managing editor of Indonesia’s state-run Antara news agency, proposed the setting-up of a China-ASEAN Media Pool to share news and urged the Confederation of ASEAN Journalists (CAJ) and the Association of China Journalists to increase dialogue and cooperation on various issues, including the increase in media fellowships, seminars and personnel exchanges.

“The media can play a key role in constructive international relations through press diplomacy by promoting cooperation between China and ASEAN by addressing differences on the basis of mutual respect and by seeking a common ground,” said Mr. Akhamad.

Malaysia’s The New Straits Times assistant group editor, Hardev Kaur, called on the media participants to pool their resources in the coordination of news coverage to avoid duplication of labour and capital.

Meanwhile, the media representatives from Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar said cooperation with their ASEAN neighbours and China will be beneficial for their news reportage which are focues mainly on local coverage and still lacking in the use of information technology.

“Our media is inward-looking,” said U Maung Maung Aye, chief editor of The New Light of Myanmar, a government-run English newspaper. “We would not argue that we have done the right thing that could serve as a model for other world media.”

The 60 delegates from the ASEAN and China media attending the day-long seminar in the Chinese capital have expressed hope that more dialogues, interactions and news exchanges will foster closer cooperation and widen the variety of news disseminated in their countries through regional collaboration.

Released by:

GERALDINE GOH

Senior Officer

Public Information

ASEAN SECRETARIAT representative at the Beijing conference.

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