China-ASEAN Media Cooperation Seminar Held in Beijing

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, September 24, 2002

China-ASEAN Media Cooperation Seminar Held in Beijing

The first high level and large-scale China-ASEAN Media Cooperation Seminar opened in Beijing Monday. Hosted by the official People's Daily, the seminar focuses on China's cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the media field and how both sides' media face the challenge of information technology.

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China-ASEAN Media Cooperation Seminar Held

The first high level and large-scale China-ASEAN Media Cooperation Seminar opened in Beijing Monday.

Hosted by the official People's Daily, China's leading newspaper, the seminar focuses on China's cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the media field and how both sides' media face the challenge of information technology.

Xu Zhongtian, president of People's Daily, said the development of relations among countries depends on mutual understanding and assistance, which communication and cooperation among the media will promote.

Vice-Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Asian media to enhance exchange and co-operation so that the largest continent in the world has a stronger voice in the international arena.

"The media in China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members are in great need of better communication and co-ordination so that Asian affairs can be covered by Asian people while world affairs can be commented on from an Asian perspective," Wang said.

"Our fine traditions and fruits of our civilization can be disseminated to the rest of the world through Asian media."

Calling for an increase in media coverage to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese people and ASEAN, Wang said media exchanges should become part of the co-operation between China and ASEAN countries.

"China has always stood for democratized international relations. To that end, world media should reflect propositions and claims of all regions and countries in a more objective and balanced manner," Wang said.

Felix Soh, deputy editor of the Straits Times in Singapore, agreed. He said that the information that floods world media is "tainted by Western cultural bias, sullied by Western political bias, coloured by Western ideological bias."

About 80 per cent of the international news broadcast everyday comes from Western news agencies, said Wang Guoqing, vice-director of the Information Office at the State Council.

"It is not right that Western news agencies control the agenda of the media in a continent with two-thirds of the world's population, or 3.7 billion people," Soh said, adding that Asian media must report on Asia.

He urged his Asian colleagues to upgrade the standard and quality of journalism being practised in the region and work together to hold off any "information monopoly."

Since the early 1990s, relations among China and ASEAN nations have developed well. ASEAN members are close neighbors of China, and all sides share viewpoints on many issues.

In 1997, Chinese President Jiang Zemin and ASEAN leaders agreed to build their good neighborly partnership based on mutual understanding in the 21st century. Last year, the two sides reached consensus to set up a free trade region in 10 years and officially started negotiations in this regard, bringing bilateral relations into a new era.

Some representatives from major Chinese and ASEAN media, including press officials and diplomats, will speak at the seminar.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN's membership now consists of all the 10 southeast Asian nations, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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