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Sunday, August 08, 2010

Why the International Media Sucks: Case #7961

Argh. AP's report on the upcoming frigate sale.... (Taipei Times, FOX entertainment) has an offensive, outrageous pro-China slant. Let's take a look. The opening paragraph:
A Taiwanese newspaper reported Thursday that the U.S. will sell the democratic island two warships, a move that would almost certainly anger China and further undermine Beijing's already tense relations with Washington.
1. The report says that Beijing will be angered, though this has not occurred yet. In fact that sale is not slated for approval until some time from now, and the systems involved are old and minor. Note that we are told only Beijing's projected response, not the US nor Taiwan positions on this sale. From the beginning Beijing's perspective dominates.

2. The sale "undermines" relations, a viciously negative word that again adopts a pro-Beijing viewpoint. Neutral words for effect abound in English: alter, affect, impact.... Further note that undermine normalizes Beijing's anger as a response. One could have written with equal fairness and greater respect for the truth that Beijing's policy of "being angry" undermines relations between Beijing and Washington.

After describing the proposed sale, the article continues:
Any new sale of U.S. military hardware to Taiwan could be expected to incense China. The mainland and the island split amid civil war in 1949, and Beijing sees third country involvement in the island's defense as interference in its internal affairs.
1. The bullshit "split in 1949 amid civil war" formulation again. No need to reiterate.

2. Of course we are told Beijing's perspective again. No perspective from Taiwan on how it might see Beijing. Nor are we ever told in this article why the US might want to sell weapons to Taiwan or why Taiwan might want them. The premise of the article is that the weapons sale occurs in a political and military vacuum which it disturbs.

3. Again we are told Beijing will be incensed. The article does not convey that "being incensed" is a policy decision, not a visceral reaction. The article does not provide any support for this claim, such as a quote from an expert:
A political scientist at National Taiwan University, Professor A. Frank Quisling, argues that Beijing....
Nor why Beijing will be "incensed" over the sale of two 40 year old subhunting ships, except for further down it mentions Beijing's "anger" over the last arms sale. The article also nowhere suggests that it might be inappropriate to become angered over such a puny arms sale.

Finally, wouldn't it be a good idea to wait and see what Beijing actually does, rather than propagandizing for its policy of using "anger" to manage its relations with foreign countries and to impact foreign media reporting?

AP then says:
Long dormant tensions between Washington and Beijing resurfaced last month when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an Asian forum in Hanoi, Vietnam, that the U.S. regarded settlement of a series of territorial disputes between China and several Asian countries in the South China Sea as being in America's national interest.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry described those comments - and Clinton's demand that the disputes be resolved through multilateral negotiations - as "an attack." China prefers to address the disputes bilaterally because it believes that approach works to its advantage.
Again we are given the Chinese perspective. No context is given for Sec of State Clinton's announcement, because of course such a context would reflect negatively on Beijing. Imagine if that paragraph had begun In response to recent aggressive moves by Beijing.... I'll bet the editors of AP wonder why people read blogs... Although the last sentence, which hints that maybe Beijing might be a bit of a bully, moves in the right direction.

Finally, the laugher:
Washington transferred recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 but is legally committed to helping Taiwan defend itself against possible Chinese attack.
Dear AP: it is now 2010. The text of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) has been publicly available for thirty-one years. Maybe someone in the AP editor's office should read it, because nowhere in it does it require the US "to help Taiwan defend itself against possible Chinese attack." But just in case anyone is confused, please read this post, also written in response to the same AP eff-up three freaking years ago. Time to stop writing that shit, really.

Meanwhile AFP, always ready to step up to the plate and hit one out of the ballpark for Beijing, spewed:
A Chinese envoy who was shoved to the ground by a pro-independence politician on his last visit to Taiwan shrugged off the incident as he returned to the island Sunday.

"I respected Taiwan's judicial ruling" on the attack, Zhang Mingqing, the vice president of China's quasi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, said after flying into Taoyuan airport.

The incident occurred in October 2008 when Wang Ting-yu, a councillor in Tainan, and a group of his supporters pushed Zhang over as the Chinese envoy was touring the southern Taiwanese city, a hotbed of anti-China feeling.

The fracas was caught on camera and triggered fury in China, with the Beijing government calling for "severe punishment" of the attackers.

Wang was convicted of assault in September last year and sentenced to a four-month jail term. On appeal, that was reduced to a fine of 122,000 Taiwan dollars (3,800 US).

Nowhere does this article report that it is likely he only fell (see my long post with many links including videos) or even that there is an alternative story, or that the video is ambiguous, or that Zhang is a thug who has many times threatened to murder everyone in Taiwan who does not agree with his political stance. A totally slanted piece. Compare this with Taiwan News more balanced approach which takes in all sides and reports Zhang's actual role:
Zhang Mingqing, a vice chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, visited a park near a Confucian temple in Tainan when he was surrounded by opponents of China’s claims of sovereignty over Taiwan and landed on the ground.

Zhang accused his opponents of pushing and shoving him, but the accused said he had fallen over a tree root.

.....

Zhang first gained prominence in Taiwan as a spokesman on Taiwanese affairs in the years when China regularly issued threats against the island to underline its claims of sovereignty.
I don't actually expect AFP to improve; I merely place this here as additional data.
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25 comments:

  1. A totally slanted piece.

    Pot.

    Kettle.

    Black.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I reiterate what I've said about AFP in past posts. Pierre Louette, now the former publisher (he resigned in Feb of this year), had vast experience in China through his marketing agencies which represented, among many China interests, the Olympics, as well as multinationals doing business in China.

    Also, AFP is an autonomous non-profit organization, and Louette tried to change it to that of a state-owned company. AFP has no capital or shareholders, cannot run at a loss and is run by a board that includes its main French clients.

    I don't know who sits on this board but there may be board members with vested interests in China, too.

    Needless to say, AFP is not without bias nor can it apparently afford offer objective reportage on China.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sir, I cannot believe you fall for the BS of the Taipei Times that the Chinese envoy who was shoved to the ground by a pro-independence politician did not happen! WTF? I saw it, i was there, sir. He did not trip. they pushed him over, i saw it, they did push him, not violently, it was not a violent ambush, but more of a gentle Taiwan style ambush and they pushed him over. If you cannot get your dpp-ized mind around this FACT, I will never read your blog again, because by refusing to face the truth on this minor minor pushing event, you show that you are brainwashed, please respond and i will read what you say. if you do not see that he was pushed over by DPP people, then you sir are stark raving mad. I really thought you as a foreigner guy would be above this, but wow, you have allowed yr EQ to trump your IQ. reply.

    Tainan Tim, from NZ, longtime epat here, who was THERE and saw the shoving....SAW IT WID MY OWN eyes, sir.....wake up and smell reality. what? you also beleive 911 was faked?

    ReplyDelete
  4. and Marc is also full of BS above re AFP. it does not matter who the publisher is sir. reporters are trained professionals, they write about facts, the frigging publisher Pierre Louette has zero to do with taiwan coverage. what a dimwit you are sire. the AFP is the AP of France, the Reuters of France, the UPI of France, got it. it's a new wire. yes, its reports often suck but that is not because of the publisher. There is so much disinformation Marc in yuour comment, it makes me sick.

    and the blogmaster here says "thanks Marc.?" for what? for more disinformation. it's a frigging wire service, marc. they are all biased. AP too. get over it.

    Tainan Tim

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tainan Tim, from NZ, longtime epat here, who was THERE and saw the shoving....SAW IT WID MY OWN eyes, sir.....wake up and smell reality. what? you also beleive 911 was faked?

    1. The issue isn't whether he was pushed but how it is reported. The AFP report is clearly slanted based on what is publicly known. The Taiwan News clearly does a better job giving the context and reporting the facts.

    2. I have no idea who you are or that your claimed identity is the same as that of the person posting.

    3. As far as I know the Taipei Times in any editorial has never claimed that Zhang was not pushed, but fell. Can you show me that?

    4. Your hyperbolic personal insults are not likely to make me respond positively.

    AP has a video here. Viewers may make up their own minds. As for me, I'm more interested in how it is reported than in determining from incomplete information what actually happened.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UPDATE is wrong sir: re: . ''After finally finding video of the event, it is *clear? that "push" is highly suspect and instead the DPP story that he tripped over a tree root or something similar appears to be *more likely?. I'm tentatively concluding that the "push" is a KMT propanda media construction, unless someone can show me video of an actual push. Suspect everything, trust nothing."

    do you sir also believe Obama was born in Kenya and the 911 towers fell due to the CIA making them fall and the all the Israelis in the Twin Towers that day were told before hand not to come to work that day? you are a mindcontrolled weiguolen now and that is sad to behold and you have a phd even. weird. you should have your license to teach revoked. you prob believe Jesus is son of God too and Moses parted the Red sea?

    ReplyDelete
  7. sir Ko Shuling in the Taipei Times had a story last week saying once again that Zhang was not pushed he merely tripped. go look. read your paper sir, yr bible.

    as for

    ''The issue isn't whether he was pushed but how it is reported. The AFP report is clearly slanted based on what is publicly known. The Taiwan News clearly does a better job giving the context and reporting the facts.''

    WTF? The Taiwan News is very slanted too. it owned by independence people who support Lu Annette. WaKe up. your job as weiguilen is to be an astute observer of facts, not a brainwashed loon.

    You WANT to believe he tripped, so that is how your brain processes the info and the video. i KNOW otherwise. but this is a kind of Roscharch test of how foreigners and locals see the DPP and KMT divide...wake up. no, go back to sleep. yu hopeless.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well then, we are certainly lucky to have you here to point things out for us.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ko Shuling seems to be the resident brainwasher at the DPP paper the Taipei Times: cf: ergo:

    and don't tell me you didn't read this because you DID:

    Roughed-up Chinese official comes back

    By Ko Shuling
    Staff Reporter
    Monday, Aug 02, 2010, Page 3

    Beijing’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Vice Chairman Zhang arrived in Taipei yesterday for a nine-day visit.



    Zhang took part in an academic conference in Tainan City in October 2008 his capacity as dean of the school of journalism at Xiamen University in Fujian Province. He was ***jostled and ***jeered by pro-­Taiwan politicians and activists during a private visit to the Confucius Temple in the city, ***ending up on the ground, before he was hustled into his car.

    HAHA - ENDIng up on the ground? just how did he end up on the ground?

    TV footage showed Tainan City Councilor Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) of the Democratic Progressive Party shouting: “Taiwan wants independence” and “Taiwan is not part of China” during a shoving match with Zhang, who ***fell to the ground, losing his glasses.

    It was not clear if Zhang tripped or was pushed.

    ReplyDelete
  10. re ''Well then, we are certainly lucky to have you here to point things out for us.''

    i am just trying to jostle your brain that's all sire. wake up, smell reality. it's not big deal, they pushed him, he fell over, i would have pushed him too if i could have been closer. i am glad they pushed him. he deserves it, the chimcom thug. But tell the truth at least. the DPPers pushed him over.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great, you've jostled my brain. Now please go back to your lair and stop spamming my blog and insulting me. Since your brain is awesomely more balanced than mine, the world would clearly benefit if you opened a blog of your own and used your superior powers of observation.

    ReplyDelete
  12. if you call my attempt to inform you of the facts SPAM, then i am done with you sir. i will never visit the blog again, even thought it is usually well written and well thought out. a partin compliment. goodbye, closed-off mind of yours.....Yikes!~

    ReplyDelete
  13. @Tiny Tim

    Lay off the crystal meth brother.

    yours truly,

    a fellow Tainan-ite who thinks people like you make the whole scene in Tainan mind numbingly shitty.

    hugs and kisses

    ReplyDelete
  14. Tim of Tainan

    Spare me your foulmouthed kiwi barbs.

    Your pointless diatribe contributes nothing of value to this thread.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Michael! "Anonymous" is awesome!

    11:08 PM:
    - - -
    sir Ko Shuling in the Taipei Times had a story last week saying once again that Zhang was not pushed he merely tripped. go look. read your paper sir, yr bible.
    - - -

    … before quoting Ko's actual words (well, maybe -- there's no link) at 11:13 PM:
    - - -
    TV footage showed Tainan City Councilor Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) of the Democratic Progressive Party shouting: “Taiwan wants independence” and “Taiwan is not part of China” during a shoving match with Zhang, who ***fell to the ground, losing his glasses.

    It was not clear if Zhang tripped or was pushed.

    - - -

    Best. Troll. Ever.

    Tim Maddog

    ReplyDelete
  16. If we assume for sake of argument he did trip, then we should look at why. He didn't trip because he was a bit clumsy, or not paying attention, or staggering about after a few too many Taiwan beer's. No, he "tripped" as a direct result of a DPP representative's violent actions.

    It doesn't matter what Zhang has said or done in the past. In this case, he was a victim of assault.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Truthfully, the Zhang item is the least item to take issue with.

    Pushed or not, the courts still did convict Wang of assault, so it is more or less reasonable for AFP to go with the scenario outlined by the prosecution.

    True, you can take issue with the courts at times, but for better or for worse, Taiwan's courts are looked upon as generally fair.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Tawian Tim again, and not a troll. The above anon guy is not me and see he or she also agrees with me and now that the blogger says "Sure I can accept that"

    Good. i made my pint. er point

    Anon above not me, said: "If we assume for sake of argument he did trip, then we should look at why. He didn't trip because he was a bit clumsy, or not paying attention, or staggering about after a few too many Taiwan beer's. No, he "tripped" as a direct result of a DPP representative's violent actions.

    It doesn't matter what Zhang has said or done in the past. In this case, he was a victim of assault."


    Michael Turton then said...
    ''Sure, I can accept that.''

    well, then sir, can you fix your earlier posts on this and said you can accept that? the thing is, of course the DPP guys wanted to shove him over, and of course they lied afterwards, this is Taiwan tradition, you do something and then you lie and said "OH WHO ME? NO WAY, we didn't do it" but of course, the damned Chicmon had no right to even be in Tainan and he deserved the gentle shoving he got and the DPP guys were merely standing up for their country and good on them mate, they did the right thing. But at least ADMIT they did. He did NOT trip, there is no question. He was pushed. accept that and move on.....


    Tainan Tim, Kiwi forever!

    and don't mind me, i am just tellin the truth. i am glad the head blogger here NOW accepts this. Not easy to win arguemnts these days, but persistence pays off. thank you sir. I am now a dedicated and loyal reader of your very good blog. cheers, mate!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Tim Maddog is also disingenuous when he shows us the actual Taipei Times text

    ''It was not clear if Zhang tripped or was pushed.''


    Mr Mad Dog, it is very clear that he was pushed. why would the Times say maybe he tripped when they also know the truth that it is clear that he was pushed. Not tripped. By writing that, Mr Ko Shuling becomes an accessory to the big DPP lie and that is unconscionable.

    It is not clear if the Earth is flat or round? Come on!

    In Taiwan culture, in case you are a newbie here Mr Mad Dog, one often lies as part of Asian situational ethics, in other words, it's okay to lie as long as it's for a good purpose. So everyone lies here, even the DPP. AMong themselves, the Tainan DPP guys say "Hey, cool, we did it, we showed him who's boss around here." But of course to the media and to the courts they say WHO ME? I DIDNT DO ANYTHING. the entire country is a like an adult kindergarden and you know it. and that's cool. but that does not mean we weiguolen have to take part on the big lie.

    I am not a ''Best. Troll. Ever.'' Mr Mad. I am the real McCoy.

    ReplyDelete
  20. AFP's coverage is totally slanted, Robert. The Courts I think are pretty fair IF the case is not political. But this one was.

    ReplyDelete
  21. when push comes to shove, all people in Taiwan lie through their teeth to deny what they did, whether KMT Chicom lovers or DPP Chicom haters. The guy was pushed, shoved. Period. Accept the truth and move on. If you cannot accept the truth, you cannot accept reality and you are living in lala land. The DPP has even admitted they pushed him. Get over it. There's a river in Spain, no make that Egypt, called Denial. Don't go there.

    ReplyDelete
  22. wow, anon, you don't have to insult all people in Taiwan.

    ReplyDelete

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