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KINGSPARK NEWS Club Number: 30119 2006-07 Rotary Year : Issue 6 : 18 September | ||
| This
is the biweekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong | ||
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| Chief
Editor : Francis Wann Club Webmaster : John Wan | ||
| Editorial
(Enough
is Enough) - By Francis Wann | ||
| District Website | RI Website | RI President | TRF | News Room | Global History Fellowship | ||
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Enough is Enough Over the past week, we've witnessed the power of the media at their best - and worst. On Monday on Pearl, the programme host of The Wall Street Journalism Report reminicised with her colleague what happened five years ago when they were making their way through the rubble at the World Trade Centre. We saw President Bush observe a moment of silence, and we saw the family members of victims pay their tribute at Ground Zero. We also saw first hand how Bush, who was at the time talking with school children, responded to the attack. But we also saw how he initiated the controversial War on Terror. Today we saw some one million protesters marching towards President Chen Shuibian's presidential palace demanding his immediate resignation. The size of the demonstration is enough to make history. There were moving scenes everywhere. We saw the human side of the media, and that former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani will always be fondly remembered for what he did during troubled times. Thanks to the media, we know that we share the common values as the world gather to mourn. It was a chilling reminder of what could have happened to th human race if we still live in our world of complacency. Closer to home, last week we saw how friends and relatives of Ching Cheong rallying in their last ditch to lodge an appeal against his five-year sentence. The dedicated Singapore Strait Times Journalist's case, and the cases of many others, sadly exposes the darker side of the media; Michael Chungani of ATV called it "A Shameful silence" and that"we became powerless bystanders"... In order to play safe, most media would go by the rule of reporting the facts, arguing that's what the public wants. The Foreign Correspondents' Club's Press Freedom Committee issued a statement on September 1, saying it is saddened and disappointed... and "strongly urge that the verdict be overturned on appeal so that justice is done and seen to be done". I remember some time ago Francis Moriarty told me how important it was for RTHK to have its own reporters because it should report from its angle. I suppose what he meant was without fear or interference. Perhaps the only way forward will be to corporatize RTHK. The recent proposals from the independent panel armed with the power to restructure RTHK should be given serious consideration. With minimum political and government influence and a more transparent and accountable system, the broadcaster should find itself a new lease of life. But without the official cocoon, it has to prove its worth when competing with its rivals in the market. It is nevertheless an opportunity for it to clean up its acts. Ultimately it's the public who decides what it wants. If journalism is to embrace every sense of the word, we would want a broadcaster which seeks to deliver integrity, common sense, and social justice, inter alia. We would also want a broadcaster which is truly independent, and lives by what it believes. It was interesting to see how actor Jackie Chan was getting so emotionally involved in his defence of privacy and how the Law Reform Commission should respond. For the rest of us mortals, the least we can do is to tell them what we want. Tell them we'v had enough of violence in the media, tell them we've had enough of gossip; tell them we're not interested in Gillian Chung's breasts. Enough is enough. | ||
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Business As Usual Indeed
My brother editor thought that I was still travelling and was surprised when I called him over the weekend seeking instructions on what to publish and when. It was not long ago, when he was travelling, that we had a record number of articles in record time. My brother urged me to publish on time, to which I said that there wasn't a lot to publish. In his usual tone, he said something like publish and be dammed. Well, I waited until the weekend was over, primarily because my connection to the Internet was faulty over the weekend. I had to seek technical support from the service provider, which meant that I spent an entire morning waiting for the technician to turn up. The young man finally turned up, tired and sweating, but courteous, and fixed the fault in two minutes flat. Waiting is an art. Some of you would recall Kipling's famous verse, "If you can wait and not be tired by waiting." In my case, at least I had not waited in vain. I wish I could say to same for my wait for articles from the membership and others. In his last article, President Patrick was very much upbeat when he spoke of his hope that members would respond positively and responsibly to his call to contribute to the club bulletin. He wrote a rather long article last time, full of facts and views, ending with a few questions for the membership and which he hoped that they would discuss at the last club assembly. Well, the Club Assembly has come and gone, but the three questions articulated by President Patrick were not even raised or discussed. First, we had too few members around; and then we did not have much time. Back to the present which should be what that matters most, I follow with hopes and fears the development following what the Holy Father said last week in Germany to a group of university professors. I have personal views on the many issues involved. It is more than religious freedom or press freedom. It seems that the world at large is not as yet prepared to speak openly against certain groups or communities which hold special critical and fundamental views for fear of attracting retribution, so much so that they would rather be bullied into submission by the will and pleasure of these groups. I wonder what Rotary or other service organizations have to say on this. I suspect it would be business as usual indeed. | ||
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Views in any article in Kingspark News reflect those of the authors. They are not necessarily the views of the Rotary Club of Kingspark or of District 3450. You are welcome to write to Chief Editor Francis Wann or Club Webmaster John Wan on any topic, particularly in response to articles published in Kingspark News. We would publish all contributions as long as the authors identify themselves, the contents are not offensive or abusive, and would not offend common decency or common sense. You need not be a Rotarian to write to us and you have a choice to withhold your name in the published version. Where the contents make reference to statements or policies of individuals or organizations, we would try to obtain a response from the latter for publication in the same issue if possible. | ||
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Chief
Editor : Francis Wann The Board of Directors President
: Patrick Wong | ||
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