Victoria Chinatown

Yesterday, it was CTV and TorStar. Today, it's Global TV.

Another national Canadian media has aired wrong footage of "police crackdown" of Tibetan protesters. In the national newscast tonight, a footage showing Nepalese police clamping down on Tibetan protesters in that country was showed with a caption "Lhasa, Tibet". This is a complete fabrication. The German media had made similar mistakes and had aplogized. Unfortunately, it looks like our Canadian reporters remain ignorant about what's going on.

Reporting on facts is fundamental to the integrity of good journalism. But it's clear our western reporters, who too often can't wait to criticize China no matter on what, do not care about basic journalistic ethics when coming to reporting China.

In tonight's newscast, the Global reporter was doing a story on the pro-China and pro-Tibet demonstrations held in Toronto today. The pro-China event was described by this reporter as a "highly organized show" and a "tightly controlled event", trying to hint that it was an event organized by the Chinese government or pro-communist factions. By "tightly controlled", the reporter meant the participants were asked not to talk to the media. However, what she didn't report was why the participants were asked not to talk to the media. It's because they've lost faith in western reporters. They feared that any slip of the tongue might be used by the reporters to fuel their China-bashing propaganda. A similar event was held in Vancouver today and the same view was shared by the Vancouver organizers.

The Global reporter also quoted the organizer as saying that the event wasn't a protest, but a "concert". But what she didn't report was that the organizers were denied a protest permit by the local government, quoting fear for violence (she should have asked why her government allowed the pro-Tibet rally a week ago, which was more prone to violence, but refused to grant permit to this one). At the end, changing the tone of the protest to a "concert" was the only option they could push for the event.

The reporter concluded the news clip by saying: "It's a small group of an ethnic group fighting against a massive well-oiled machine." However, the visual that was showing when she said that was ALSO that of the Nepalese police cracking down on violent Tibetan protesters in Nepal.

One sidenote though, I do think the organizers (at least those of the Vancouver protest) were TOO cautious. They feared TOO much about potential violence and crashes. The Vancouver one started off as a suggestion on a few online forums by Chinese students who've become so angry about the unfair reporting by the western media. According to the organizer, for "security reason", they decided not to publicize the time and place of the gathering. People who wanted to join were asked to email the organizer. Once confirmed that their wish to rally was genuine they would be told about the time and place.

I see that culture plays a role here. These young Chinese students do not have experience launching public demonstrations in a democratic country. Their way of handling the rally was pretty much instinctual, affected by their upbringing in a country under a one-party rule. They thought not talking to the reporters was a good way to avoid misquote. However, our society automatically becomes suspicious for this kind of behaviour, believing that you must have something to hide, regardless that your real intent was just to be "cautious". At the end, no matter what you did or what you didn't say, they'd label your as having some hidden agenda.

To resolve future conflicts, the West needs to understand that Chinese people are not as open in showing their emotions, while the Chinese needs to learn that being too defensive would only deemed as being secretive. There is a long way before the Chinese can really handle the rule of game that the rest of the world is playing.

As I said before, it's the bias shown in the western media that has turned me to the defensive side.

See also:

Global TV fabrication
CTV, TorStar blasted for biased reporting on Tibet issue
We demand honesty from our 'free' press: activist
He may be a God, but he’s no politician
The voices of Han Chinese in LhasaWestern Tibetophilla = escaping disgust with modernity
Mainstream media bias against China is live and thriving: US tourist
'There're no innocent Chinese bystanders': pro-Tibet blogger
On Sinophobia
Biased media reports 'unite all Chinese'
Evidence of Western media bias
Tourist video of Lhasa riot shows mob violence
'Chinese authorities exercise great restraint': CTV
Accounts from Lhasa and beyond
'Howling' mob attack anything, anyone looks Chinese: Western tourists
Hong Kong reporters, foreigners expelled from Lhasa (footage)
Tibet riot - BBC
Tibet riot photos taken by eyewitnesses
'They don't even let go women and children'
Tibet riot - great INDEPENDENT accounts
Rioter to Dalai Lama: 'Please don't ask us to stop'
Han Chinese not humans?
Latest AP photos of the Lhasa riot
Beijing, Dharamasala both use heavy propaganda machines
Tibet riot - more eyewitness accounts
'They stopped throwing stones at the boy when I rushed forward'
Tibet riot - the other side of the story