East-West Center Media Conference

For a look at the Power Point presentation that accompanied this talk, go here.

Reporters covering or attempting to understand China must understand that this huge nation is following its own path — a path that combines capitalism, socialism, Communism and its own Chinese identity, a top East West Center China expert told the Bankgok Media Conference.

What is emerging is a form of “Sino-Capitalism” with its own special characteristic, challenges and opportunities, Center researcher Chris McNally said.

This view, he said, rejects as perhaps overly simplistic the two prevailing thoughts about China today:

The first is that China in on an inevitable path toward a political, economic and cultural system that will bring it into direct conflict with the United States, either economically or militarily or perhaps both.

The second, favored by Chinese leaders, is a a form of “peaceful development” which implies an absence of conflict and China emerging as a permanent global power.

“These (two) perspectives at best misconstrue the dynamics of Chimna’s rise and are at worst dangerous to our understanding of what exactly China’s rise entails,” McNally told the group.

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To hear an audio version of Dr. Orville Schell’s talk, go HERE

Every conference has a moment or two that helps define discussion for the entire event.

At the Bangkok Media Conference, one such moment came during the presentation by China expert and journalist Orville Schell. [Read more →]

One of the toughest nuts to crack for any journalist these days is Burma.

The military rulers there have a tight rein on the media - What goes in as well as what goes out.

A media conference session on Burma put the situation in stark perspective.

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Whether it is due the coming of the Olympics, globalization , the steady beat of democratization or emerging local, non-state enterprises, good things are happening to the media in China, one of that country’s leading press reformers told the media conference.

Li Datong, Senior Editor at China Youth Daily and a longtime advocate of a more open and independent press in China, painted a positive picture of the media climate in China today for the conference.

State control and interference remains a serious factor, he said, but top-down authority is no match for the myriad forces of openness.”Even with (continued) strict control by China’s government, the development of democracy in Chinese media is irreversible,” Li said.

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To hear an audio version of Dr. Surin’s talk to the media conference, go HERE

If ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, does not reinvent itself, it could slip into irrelevance in a rapidly globalizing and interconnected world.

And journalists have a role in that process, not as mouthpieces for any particular government or official line, but rather as active agents helping a regional community “talk to itself.”

That was the message, or at least a central one, in a keynote address by Dr.. Surin Pitsuwan at the opening banquet of the East West Center’s Bangkok media conference this evening

Dr. Surin is the new Secretary General of ASEAN, and he offered up a rousing defense of the organization in his address to nearly 200 conference attendees and guests.

But ASEAN will be a player only if its member states rethink their role, he said. That begins with adopting a charter that sets out how ASEAN can play a central part in the political, economic, socio-cultural and security future of the region, Surin told the group.

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The East-West Center’s media conference in Bangkok (”Changing Dynamics in the Asia Pacific”) opens today (Sunday, Bangkok time) with lots of news popping up around the region and right here in the conference city.

Tensions in Korea, the Beijing Olympics and bioterrorism are among the many scheduled topics up for discussion.But delegates are likely to spend a little time talking about the news in Bangkok, as well. Thailand has just formed a new government, and today’s headlines are full of the details of the six-party coalition, led by the People Power party. The government begins work on Monday.

In his welcoming message to the delegates, Suwat Thongthanakul , President of the National Press Council of Thailand, notes that the new government will be “ironically led by a party whose government was topped in a bloodless coup almost two years ago.”

That’s politics, and fodder for conversation.

On the media front, the big news is the dissolution of the independent television station, TITV, which will be replaced by a government-supervised Thailand Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS).The hopeful vision is for a Thai version of the venerable BBC. But some worry that’s too lofty a goal, right now, for this fledgling operation. Will this be a hard-hitting independent voice, as is promised, or might it become a government mouthpiece?

Another question is what happens to the hundreds of people employed by the former TITV. They’re welcome to apply at the new operation, but no promises of employment have been made. It’s likely technicians will have an easier time transferring over than journalists, but who knows?

In any event, news is bubbling up around the region and right here in conference city as the Center’s media conference gets underway.

One of the big benefits of the East-West Center’s Bangkok Media Conference is the ability to meet, hear and get to know world-class newsmakers who otherwise might be very difficult to catch up with.

Consider, for instance, Dr. Michael Osterholm , director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

Prof. Osterholm, who will appear at a conference panel on “Covering Public Health and Infectious Diseases, ” is a recognized international expert on infectious diseases.. He has written extensively about the threat of an influenza pandemic, including articles in Foreign Affairs, the New England Journal of Medicine and Nature.

Mike Osterholm has advised government leaders both in the United States and in Asia on the threat of a flu pandemic as well as on other key issues, including bioterrorism. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller: “ Living Terrors: What America Needs to Know to Survive the Coming Bioterrorist Catastrophe.”

If you won’t be at the conference, watch this blog for more on this important speaker and this vital topic. And for a complete list of programs, speakers and panelists, go here.

Final planning for the Bangkok media conference is well underway. Lots of buzz about the big speech by Surin Pitsuwan , the new Secretary-General of ASEAN. Is the former Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs going to give our group an early scoop on where he intends to take ASEAN? Should be exciting. Don’t forget. This blog is for you. If you have ideas about what should be discussed at the media conference or if there’s something you particularly want to hear about, let us know. Otherwise, watch this space for the latest.

“Changing Dynamics in the Asia Pacific: Power Politics, Economic Might, and Media Challenges”

Venue: Novotel Siam Square Hotel, January 21-23, 2008

HONOLULU (Oct. 12) – Blogging in China, 2008 Olympics coverage, inside views on Burma, and outlooks on North Korea’s latest moves will be just a few of the highlights at a Bangkok media conference sponsored by the East-West Center in January. Journalists will get the most current and reliable information on the big stories in the Asia Pacific, as well as the lesser known but important emerging issues. In three compact days, you’ll hear from experts and reporters on the front lines.

Attendees will also get the latest on Asia’s dynamic media as well as challenges facing journalists in the region.

The conference will host keynote speakers and experts, panels of journalists, and media workshops. Issues will include: meeting Asia’s energy demands, India’s rise, covering Islam, and U.S.-Asia relations after 2008 elections. Learn from Pacific Island journalists about the competition for influence from China, Taiwan and other countries in this remote but strategic part of the world. New Media trends and media forecasts in the region as well as challenges to journalists, including censorship and covering conflicts, will also be addressed.

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