Andrew's Blog from Paris (formerly London / Bordeaux / Sheffield): Is there an Anti-China bias in the Western media?

Last Tuesday evening I attended a seminar hosted by Temtsel Hao, a producer from BBC World Service China, on the issue of the press in China and the subsequent reporting of the Olympic Games. The impression that emerged from the seminar was that there ‘undeniably existed’ an overwhelming heavy ‘anti-China bias in the Western media’. This is something that I wholeheartedly disagree with and has been on my mind since then. That is, until now.

I should firstly state that while speaking in a personal capacity, that opinion was not that explicitly expressed by Mr Hao, but was that inferred by his speech which referred heavily to the supposedly anti-China coverage by the ‘West’ surrounding the Free Tibet campaign. In his talk he also showed a video from YouTube that was blatant pro-China propaganda produced by a Chinese local, which he then proceeded to explain why each of the ‘facts’ presented in the video was correct and confirmed this bias.

One of those arguments he expanded on revolved around the coverage, particularly by the BBC, of the protest surrounding the Olympic Torch as its global parade reached the streets of London. Apparently the BBC’s articles, such as this one (click here to read)*, drew more attention to the protests than the symbolic message the torch carrying conveys.

Well Duh! In media terms, the successful completion of a torch parade is not news, unless of course all the previous attempts had been interrupted.

Therefore the protests that occurred inherits a massive news value because this is news. I certainly don’t believe that reporting this was anti-China, or even pro-Tibet for that matter. It is called news reporting, and is an essential part of any news media, especially the free press - something that China currently does not enjoy.

And it is there that I believe the real issue lies. For me, a free press is an essential instrument of democracy, but then again you cannot call China, with its one-party system a functioning democracy. The press in China is far less free than the press in the United States or France or here in the UK, and there are no clear signs that the ruling Communist Party of China led has any intention of changing the rules of the game in the future.

Media outlets, although numerous, are continuously subjected to government censorship and newspapers, magazines and web sites are being shut down on a regular basis because the powers that be don’t like the substance being produced.

In some instances, the very content that was censored was just the simple facts (e.g. the number of people at a protest), but even those facts would create a more transparent political atmosphere and induce government accountability. These two factors, I feel, are all the more critical in a society, such as China’s where governmental authority is monopolised by a single party that continues to play a major role in the economy through its ownership of the banks and controlled of inward investment policy that has seen its massive rise on the global scene.

Such transparent and investigative reporting, whether you like it or not in the English press, has made the English government far more accountable to its citizens and gone a long way to ensuring that massive scandals and corruption (something that is rife in China) is exposed and actively discouraged.

As for the issue of the anti-China bias, I will admit that I believe such a bias exists, but it is not as strong as those who attended the seminar believed. My personal opinion is that China has brought it on itself – if it had nothing to hide then why does it exercise censorship so often and rigorously?

It may claim that reporting restrictions in the run-up and during the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing will be unrestricted, but why then was the Panorama journalist John Sweeney assigned a government supervisor who ensured he only reported on things ‘permitted’ by the government? (Episode details here)*

It has been true, however, that some allowances are beginning to be made. For example, back in July the Chinese authorities removed the public-access restriction allowing locals to browse the BBC’s China pages (story here)* and the Party has gone further to suggest that its ruled may be permanently relaxed after the Games to allow foreign correspondents to travel around China without first getting permission from the authorities - as they had to do previously, and being able to interview people without prior consent.

But significantly, the regulations do not apply to Chinese journalists, who will continue to face a high degree of control and censorship by the Chinese government.

With that in mind it might be many more years before the Chinese Press can enjoy the same freedoms as their English counterparts can over here on a daily basis. Until China loosens the straight-jacket on the reporting of its national media, its government cannot be held accountable, and whose to say that public discontent will not rise to a level witnessed in the horrifying events of Tiananmen Square in 1989?

After all, next year will be its 20th anniversary, and the eyes of the world’s press will no doubt assign that some attention…

UPDATE: 25/11/08 18.42

Funnily enough, the Chinese have today reacted negatively to the release of the highly-anticipated new album from Guns N' Roses, labelling it as 'venemous'.

Released around the world yesterday, it is the band’s first studio album since their last 15-years ago in 1993, is called Chinese Democracy (surely a contradiction in terms). As reported on the BBC news website, an article in the Global Times that was published by the Chinese ruling communist party, says the album "turns its spear point on China".

Inevitably it has been on the receiving end of the censorship treatment. Already, the official website for the album has been blocked, the title track of the album refers to the banned Falun Gong spiritual group. Although I’m personally not a fan of the band and so have not listened to the album, lead singer Axl Rose apparently during the title track sings: "If your great wall rocks, blame yourself”, and if that wasn’t enough, the artwork for the album includes the oil painting Red Star by Beijing artist Shi Lifeng - the one which depicts the Chinese people as powerless.

With China's reluctancy to allow anything that undermines the regime and their perception of such an anti-China sentiment from America and the West, I wonder if the Chinese authorities will ever allow this American band to play a live show there in the future? I believe not...