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Telesur English presents a new episode of "China Now", a wave media's production that showcases the culture, technology, and politics of the Asian Giant.
China Now is a show that explores the past and future of the Asian Giant.
Join teleSUR's community and be part of a space where your ideas matter.
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NewsTranscript
00:00In this first segment, we are going to talk about a visit of the Prime Minister of China
00:05to Australia, announcing China's inclusion of Australia in the unilateral visa-free countries.
00:11On the other hand, the Premier of Malaysia is planning to join the BRICS Group on Emerging
00:14Economies, signalling a strategic economic shift.
00:18Also, the China Coast Guard conducted its inaugural boarding inspection of a Philippine
00:23missile in the South China Sea for a legal entry.
00:27And in retaliation for EU's AV tariff, Beijing's new anti-doping investigation could raise
00:33tariffs on EU ports.
00:36Let's see.
00:37China Current is a weekly news talk show from China to the world.
00:41We cover viral news about China every week and also give you the newest updates on China's
00:46cutting-edge technologies.
00:47Let's get started.
00:48Welcome to China Current, your weekly news report of what's happening in China.
01:02I'm Lisa.
01:04In this episode, the Chinese Premier visited Australia, announcing China's inclusion of
01:09Australia in its unilateral visa-free countries.
01:14Malaysia's Prime Minister plans to join the BRICS Group on Emerging Economies, signalling
01:19a strategic economic shift.
01:21The China Coast Guard conducted its inaugural boarding inspection of a Philippine missile
01:27in the South China Sea for a legal entry.
01:31In retaliation for EU's AV tariff, Beijing's new anti-doping investigation could raise
01:37tariffs on EU ports.
01:40Also a Chinese video game, Top Global Sales, Black Mist Wukong, developed by GameScience,
01:47surpasses Counter-Strike 2 on Steam.
01:50Let's start today's episode with a significant move for international relations.
01:54Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Adelaide on June 15, marking the start of his official
02:00visit to Australia.
02:01In a landmark announcement, Premier Li declared that China will include Australia in its list
02:08of unilateral visa-free countries.
02:10The visa, the first by a Chinese Premier in seven years, signifies a return to normalcy
02:16in bilateral relations after years of tension.
02:20Analysts noted that this development follows Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albany's
02:25successful visit to China last year, which helped to realign the two nations after a
02:30period of strained ties.
02:33Premier Li's visit coincided with the 10th anniversary of the China-Australia Comprehensive
02:40Strategic Partnership.
02:41He expressed his eagerness for in-depth discussion with Australian leaders and citizens on a
02:47variety of topics, including cooperation and development.
02:51Premier Li said,
02:52We agree to provide each other with reciprocal access to five-year multiple-entry visas for
02:58tourism, business and visiting family members.
03:01China will also include Australia in its visa waiver programme.
03:05Adelaide is the second stop of Premier Li's three-nation tour following his visit to New
03:11Zealand.
03:12During his four-day stay in Australia, he and Prime Minister Albany co-chaired the 9th
03:17China-Australia Annual Leaders' Meeting and participated in the China-Australia CEO Roundtable.
03:24Prime Minister Albany described it as an important opportunity to engage directly on key bilateral
03:31issues, emphasising the importance of maintaining a stable and direct relationship with China.
03:39Australian Assistant Defence Minister and Trade Minister echoed this sentiment, highlighting
03:43the need for stability and willingness on both sides to remove impediments to the relationship.
03:50Professor Yu Lei from Shandong University suggests that this shows the current Australian
03:55government has recognised that the previous government went too far in handling Australia's
04:00relations with China, ultimately damaging the interests of the Australian people.
04:05However, while proactive measures are being taken, challenges remain.
04:10As a NATO member and ally of the US, there are still certain difficulties and security
04:15concerns between the two sides, especially in the advancement of the AUKUS.
04:21Next up, another significant development on the international stage.
04:25Malaysia is planning to join the BRICS grouping of emerging economies.
04:29This announcement comes directly from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
04:34In an interview with Chinese media outlet, Prime Minister Anwar revealed that Malaysia
04:39will soon begin the formal process of joining BRICS, pending feedback from South Africa.
04:45He stated,
04:46We have made our policy clear and we have made our decision.
04:49We will start the formal process soon.
04:51As far as the global South is concerned, we are fully supportive.
04:55BRICS, founded in 2006, initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
05:02This January, the bloc expanded to welcome Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE.
05:08Anwar also supported comments made by Brazilian President Luiz Lula, criticising the dominance
05:14of the US dollar in international trade.
05:17Anwar expressed frustration over currency attacks, emphasising that such dominance
05:23contradicts basic economic principles.
05:26He remarked,
05:27Last year, Malaysia had the highest investment ever, but the currency was still attacked.
05:33It goes against basic economic principles.
05:37Criticising the US dollar's dominance as an international currency.
05:40Anwar praised China's rise, highlighting it as a source of global balance.
05:45He commended Chinese President Xi Jinping for his focus on rejuvenating Asian values
05:50and civilisation, noting that he was attracted to President Xi for being one of the few leaders
05:57who talk about civilisation, making him unique.
06:01He called for a broader perspective on history and expressed the need for independent countries
06:07to voice their views freely.
06:09Anwar remarked that the excessive focus on one event ignores decades of history and is
06:15a problem with Western discourse.
06:18These comments come ahead of Chinese Prime Minister Li Qian's visit to Malaysia, marking
06:22the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations.
06:27During Li's three-day visit, Malaysia and China are expected to renew a five-year economic
06:33cooperation agreement and sign deals in the digital economy and green development.
06:39Next up, the China Coast Guard has conducted its first-ever boarding inspection of a Philippine
06:46vessel that had illegally entered the South China Sea.
06:51On June 17, despite PAYARA commitments, the Philippines sent three ships into the waters
06:57near Ren'ai Reef in the Nanshan Islands, attempting to deliver supplies to an illegally
07:03grounded military ship.
07:05During this operation, the Philippine supply ship deliberately collided with a Chinese
07:10vessel.
07:11After repeated warnings were ignored, the China Coast Guard boarded and inspected the
07:16Philippine vessels.
07:18The action by the China Coast Guard has drawn condemnation from the Philippine Armed Forces.
07:23However, reports indicate that the China Coast Guard had issued multiple warnings regarding
07:29the Philippine incursion near Ren'ai Reef.
07:32The first warning came at 4.43am, revealing that the China Coast Guard had taken regularly
07:38measures against Philippine vessels according to the law.
07:42The second report indicated that at 5.59am, the Philippine supply ship had ignored multiple
07:49stern warnings from the Chinese side, violating international maritime coalition regulations,
07:56and deliberately approached Chinese vessels in a dangerous and unprofessional manner,
08:01resulting in a collision.
08:03The responsibility for the incident lies entirely with the Philippine side.
08:09Ganyu, spokesperson for the China Coast Guard, stated that the boarding inspection was conducted
08:15in accordance with the law and followed professional standards.
08:18On June 15, new regulations for the administrative enforcement procedures of the China Coast
08:24Guard came into effect.
08:26These regulations grant the China Coast Guard the authority to use lethal force against
08:31foreign vessels that refuse to leave China's territorial waters.
08:36Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reiterated that China is
08:42committed to resolving maritime disputes through negotiations with directly involved parties,
08:49but will respond firmly to any maritime provocations.
08:52Dr. Ding Duo, deputy director of the Maritime Law and Policy Research Institute at the National
08:58Institute for South China Sea Studies, points out that in early May, the China Coast Guard
09:04conducted maritime rescue training, demonstrating China's preparedness for emergencies and
09:10cautioned the Philippines against underestimating China's resolve.
09:14He stressed that China has a clear red line in the South China Sea dispute and is fully
09:20prepared for any contingencies.
09:23Next up, China has launched an anti-dumping investigation into pork imports from the European
09:29Union.
09:30This move comes after the EU decided to impose new tariffs on Chinese electrical vehicles.
09:36The investigation could lead to higher tariffs on EU pork products, impacting major exporters
09:43like Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, and France.
09:46Currently, China imposes a 12% tariff on EU meat imports.
09:51Analysts warn that an increase to 20% could significantly affect European exporters, who
09:57might struggle to offset losses even with new markets such as Vietnam and the Philippines.
10:04China's Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday that the investigation will target
10:09various pork products imported from the EU for human consumption.
10:14This includes fresh, dried, smoked, preserved, cold, and frozen whole cut, as well as pig
10:21intestines, stomachs, and bladders.
10:23The ministry has urged those affected by the alleged dumping to contact the Trade Remedy
10:28and Investigation Bureau within 20 days to join the investigation.
10:33In 2023, China consumed 57.94 million tons of pork and pork by-product, importing only
10:411.55 million tons.
10:44About half of these imports came from Europe.
10:46The Chinese financial news outlet reported that the drop in EU pork supply is not expected
10:51to significantly impact pork prices in China.
10:55However, many EU pig farms could suffer due to difficulties in finding new buyers for
11:01products not commonly used in European cuisine.
11:05Last year, Spain exported approximately 5060,000 tons of pork products worth 1.2 billion euros
11:13to China.
11:14Following the investigation launch, Spain has called for trade talks.
11:18Spanish agriculture minister expressed hope for negotiations to avoid tariffs on Spanish
11:23agriculture products.
11:25The Netherlands and Denmark, which exported pork products worth $620 million and $515
11:32million respectively in 2023, will also be affected.
11:39Commentators suggest that the rising demand for pork in China provides Beijing with leverage
11:44in trade negotiations with the EU.
11:47If necessary, China may consider increasing pork imports from Brazil and Russia.
11:53Next up, a Chinese video game has topped the global sales chart.
11:57Black Mist Wukong, an action RPG developed by Chinese studio GameScience, has dethroned
12:04Counter-Strike 2 to become the highest-grossing product on Steam.
12:08For the week of June 4-11.
12:12GameScience opened pre-orders for Black Mist Wukong after debuting a new trailer at the
12:17Summer Game Fest 2024, reminding fans that the game is set to launch on August 20.
12:24Currently, it is the most wish-listed upcoming title worldwide.
12:29As of June 17, over 1.15 million people have pre-ordered the game, generating over 300
12:36million RMB in sales, even at the lowest price point.
12:40The game's story is based on one of the four great classic novels of Chinese literature
12:45西游记, Journey to the West, published in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty
12:52and attributed to Wu Cheng'en.
12:54This epic tale spans 100 chapters and follows Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, who can pull
12:59a spear from his ear and is one of the protagonists of the story.
13:04Black Mist Wukong is deeply rooted in Chinese mythology, with the titular Wukong.
13:08Let's stay tuned for more updates on this highly anticipated game.
13:13And that's all for today.
13:15Thank you for watching this episode of China Current, and if you have any thoughts and
13:19comments about our show, please reach us at the email address below.
13:23Thank you and look forward to hearing from you.
13:26See you next time.
13:27We will go for a short break, but we'll be right back.
13:33Stay with us.
13:50Welcome back to China Now.
13:52In this second segment, we have Global Arena, with Charlize Liu talking about the problems
13:57caused by the tensions between India and China.
14:00Moreover, in Thinkers Forum, we have Dom Debor, a journalist and Current Affairs commentator,
14:06talking about how the media shapes the way we view the world.
14:09Let's see.
14:14Major Indian press, Hindustan Times, reported, quoting from Economic Times of India, that
14:24the tension between China and India, and the problems that the tension has created, has
14:32brought about, for the Indian electronics industry, $15 billion in losses.
14:39In addition, and this is, I think, even more significant and more painful, loss of 100,000 jobs.
14:46Now, India wants to grow.
14:49India wants to develop.
14:51India wants to become a dominant force, not only in Asia, but in the world.
14:56But at the same time, it's trying to do this by blocking out Chinese companies, Chinese
15:02investments, Chinese suppliers, and creating very difficult conditions, including blocking
15:10visas for Chinese workers going to India, Chinese engineers, Chinese investors.
15:17Can they do it without Chinese support, or the Chinese suppliers, and the Chinese investments
15:24that have flooded into India over the last decade?
15:29I think it's very difficult.
15:30This is something beginning to be recognized by the media in India as well, naming 100,000
15:39job loss.
15:40Now, this is in a population of 1.4 billion, may not seem significant, but this is actually
15:47industrial jobs.
15:48This is actually jobs that creates higher value for farm workers.
15:54So 100,000, the significance can be much, much higher than 100,000 job loss in the countryside.
16:03I think India has to come to grips with the issue of running or growing together with
16:10China, rather than blocking China out to protect its own industries.
16:17China has gone through the process and has succeeded in creating ever higher value products,
16:24going up the supply chain, going up the value chain, and going up the technology chain.
16:31I think India should come to grips with this.
16:35China is not trying to demolish India.
16:38China is not trying to compete with India.
16:41I think there's very little that India can do in competing with China in manufacturing
16:46in the world today.
16:48I think India would be wise to try to join the China supply chain and become part of
16:55a much bigger market, including the Chinese market and the ASEAN market.
17:02It's very clear the ASEAN countries, including countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam,
17:08and Thailand, have happily joined the supply chain in China and also happily gained, therefore,
17:16also access to the Chinese market.
17:20Not only are they moving quickly in this market integration and supply chain integration with
17:27the Chinese market and the Chinese supply chain, their infrastructure is becoming more
17:33efficiently adapted to the Chinese infrastructure, including the new rail lines that's being built.
17:41Of course, Indonesia has adopted the Chinese standard of high-speed rail, but Vietnam and
17:48Cambodia and so on are now also adopting Chinese rail standards.
17:55Transportation can be a much more sophisticated network between China and the ASEAN countries,
18:04which will, of course, also enhance the efficiency of the supply chain.
18:08I think India should also consider doing the same, rather than blocking out Chinese investors,
18:15Chinese companies, or, as is known to many, that the business environment of imposing
18:23fines, freezing cash accounts of Chinese companies, doesn't really induce or encourage Chinese
18:32investment into India.
18:35There was an article in Bloomberg on this very same subject, or part of this subject.
18:41The title of the article is, Modi's Jobs Crisis Can't Be Solved Without China, and it's interesting
18:49that Western press, like Bloomberg, is now identifying this problem or this issue.
18:56The article basically refers to the job crisis in India, with such a huge young population
19:03seeking advancement in their careers and creating the need to create higher value jobs to accommodate them.
19:12Now, the article basically refers to the fact that without Chinese investment, without
19:19Chinese companies' establishment of manufacturing or industrial jobs, it's going to be very
19:26difficult for Modi to accommodate the needs of creating higher value jobs for the young
19:33population in India.
19:35So this ties into what we were talking about before, in terms of not only creating a greater
19:42market, also creating more industrial jobs, higher value jobs.
19:48This is something that even the Western press is now beginning to address.
20:01The U.S. entered the post-World War II period with absolutely two different kinds of approaches.
20:10One was to build a true international law and international institutions, and the second
20:17was to be a superpower.
20:20And these were always in some conflict with each other.
20:25But there was a time, for a long time, I would say, where the U.N. was respected by American
20:31politics, and the idea was we should strengthen the U.N. and U.N. agencies.
20:37The U.S. had a lot to do with building a lot of the U.N. agencies, like the World Health
20:42Organization and others, after World War II.
20:47But over time, as U.S. power increased, and especially at the end of the Soviet Union,
20:55when the U.S. strategists said, you know, we're the sole superpower.
21:00We have no challengers.
21:02We can do what we want.
21:04Then they started to look at the United Nations merely as a nuisance.
21:09And here were all these new post-colonial countries saying, we need a fair international
21:15system.
21:16And the United States would say, don't talk to us about fairness.
21:18We'll decide what fairness is.
21:20And so over time, the U.S. political elite started to view the U.N. maybe as a place
21:28to spread U.S. propaganda, but not as a vehicle of global problem solving.
21:34And if you look at objective data, the U.S. is the country in the world probably least
21:40aligned with the U.N. charter right now.
21:44I've created with my colleagues a multilateralism index to see who actually sides with the global
21:53majority, who actually follows the U.N. institutions, who signs U.N. treaties and so on.
22:00The U.S. comes out at the end of the list, not at the front, at the back, the least aligned
22:08country with the U.N. charter.
22:10What the U.S. started to do was to say, we will create an alliance.
22:16We will create a group of allies and friends.
22:21So this became the expression, not the U.N., but allies and friends, allies and friends,
22:27allies and friends.
22:29And this meant military allies, of course.
22:32This meant NATO.
22:34And the mindset is completely us versus them.
22:39It's the U.S. versus China.
22:41How dare China be so large and successful?
22:45We're the only superpower.
22:47So that became the U.S. mindset.
22:50Now it would be a tragedy if China took the view, well, the U.S. has its alliance.
22:58Now we'll have our alliance.
23:00In other words, dividing the world in two.
23:05Probably China would have the larger part of the world population and so on.
23:10You look at the BRICS today, for example.
23:13They are about 36% of world output compared to 29% of world output of the G7 countries.
23:21But the idea should not be the U.S. has its alliance.
23:25We need our alliance for our security or to save the world from the U.S. alliance.
23:31In my opinion, but a strongly held view, I'm hoping that China will continue to do
23:38what it's been doing to say the U.S. has its allies and friends.
23:45We have the U.N. charter.
23:47We have international law.
23:49We want multilateralism of everyone, including the U.S.
23:55We don't want to have two blocs.
23:57We don't want bloc politics.
24:00Because I believe China's statecraft is fundamentally different from Western statecraft.
24:07Western statecraft is always us versus them.
24:11It's always a fight.
24:13It's always a war of all against all.
24:16If you listen to the realists, it's an anarchic world system, the way they call it.
24:22Because they say there's no overarching power, so it's anarchy.
24:28But Confucian thought is something very different.
24:31Confucian thought is that's not anarchy.
24:33You need virtue.
24:35You need principles to live, and that can be what holds us together.
24:41So we don't need one dominant power.
24:45We don't need one hegemon.
24:47We need decency.
24:49We need virtue.
24:50We need proper behavior.
24:52This is what I hope China leads the world in showing, that this, quote, realist model
24:59is not the only model of statecraft.
25:02The idea of war of all against all is not the only model.
25:07And that in fact, and I'll just summarize here, the United Nations will be 80 years
25:15old next year.
25:17That's not a lot of time in human history.
25:19We've only had one century so far of attempting international law.
25:26It started with the League of Nations, which didn't work.
25:29Now we have the UN, which is very fragile, and the US has increasingly turned its back
25:36on its own creation.
25:38But I don't want to give up on the UN.
25:41And I believe that for China's interest, by the way, interest, as well as its vision,
25:48a strong UN system is the right kind of system.
25:53The United States does not recognize the doctrine of non-intervention.
26:00The United States is the number one user of sanctions, not UN sanctions, US unilateral
26:08sanctions.
26:09That is intervention in other countries' affairs.
26:12The United States funds agencies like the National Democratic Institute and others to
26:19actually get into the internal politics of other countries.
26:24Are you kidding?
26:25Handle our own politics.
26:27We have enough problems agreeing on anything inside the United States.
26:31Don't meddle in the internal affairs of other countries.
26:35And the United States has 750 overseas military bases.
26:42What I propose is we end all overseas military bases, all of them.
26:49You know, if your naval vessel needs refurbishing in a naval yard, it doesn't have to be an
27:00overseas naval base to do it.
27:02We could get along better if we didn't have all of this massive, 80 countries of overseas
27:12US military bases where the US meddles in the internal politics just about every place
27:18where it has a military base.
27:20Because then the US strategy says, oh, we don't want to get kicked out of here.
27:25We need a government that doesn't want to throw us out.
27:29But this government says, we don't want you here.
27:31Well, maybe we have to have a regime change operation in this country.
27:35And so this is very destabilizing.
27:38China can be, should be a bulwark along with all the rest and teach the US also abide by
27:46international law, abide by the doctrine of non-intervention, abide by virtue and harmony
27:53in international relations.
27:55It doesn't have to be a war of all against all.
27:59It should be harmony because we have enough to do together that we don't need this constant
28:05provocation, which is unfortunately what has become US foreign policy.
28:22People have a lot of opinions and no facts, and that's basically what it is.
28:27We're so connected to the media.
28:29I was born in 1954.
28:31I turned five in 1959, started school then, went through secondary school over in 1972
28:39and then studied from there on.
28:41When I was five years old, my parents would not allow us to have a television set.
28:45We didn't have one.
28:46They wanted us to read.
28:48So my contact with the real world or with the world as I was being socialized consisted
28:54of reading, the radio, mostly music and a little bit of news.
29:00The reading was mostly newspapers and then books because I read everything.
29:04And just people, like actual person-to-person contact.
29:08There was no virtual contact.
29:10It was all real with the exception of reading and sound.
29:15As I got older, we kind of fed into the paradigm that developed.
29:20We were kind of late stage.
29:22People my age, other people my age mostly, grew up in front of a television set.
29:28And they're different.
29:29Their understanding of things is different.
29:31Now there's an immersion in all of the technology and the socialization now of kids, say for
29:38the last 10, 15 years even, is through these little boxes.
29:42My nieces sit next to each other on a couch and nobody says a word.
29:46They all type there.
29:49In other words, their socialization is virtual.
29:52So the people that come out of school, college, grad school, professional law school.
29:58I've trained law school students, for example, on different things.
30:02Their understanding of the world is, in a sense, very shallow.
30:07And they take a great deal of claims at face value as if they're true.
30:13And so if all they're hearing about China is China's killing Uyghurs, China's trying
30:19to make Muslims become atheists and all of this nonsense, if that's all they're hearing,
30:25that's the universe for them.
30:26That's what they honestly believe.
30:28So when we're talking about this, I'm sorry to go this long circle.
30:31I just want to give you an understanding of my perspective.
30:34When we're talking about what do people think here or something, the first reflex I have
30:38is to say they're not thinking.
30:40I can't tell you what they're thinking.
30:42They'll tell you something if you ask a question.
30:44But I don't think there's an actual thought process involved.
30:47I don't think they're taking this fact and this fact and testing them and synthesizing
30:52and comprehending something at all.
30:54I think it's something quite different that's inserted into them that comes out when you
30:58push the print button.
31:00That said, what will come out of their mouth is almost exactly what the media tells them.
31:06People that see all the work that I do, you know, and they pat me on the back for it and
31:10such, my family, my friends, whatever, will then turn around when I say I'm going to China
31:14and say, are you going to be safe?
31:16I was in Siberia as an election inspector last month.
31:20And I've been to Russia twice before that, once for a month.
31:25And when I told my friends, you know, I'm going there, they were genuinely worried about
31:29my safety.
31:31And the same with China.
31:32They think I'm going to end up in a re-education camp or some crazy, I'm serious.
31:37This is what they believe.
31:39Lots of people believe this myth here, but it's really difficult to even call it a belief
31:44because it isn't that deep.
31:46If I took one of these people with me on a trip to China, they would be an apostle here
31:51preaching China because it would be such a revelation to them that, you know, things
31:56were so different than they believed before that now they have to believe this, whatever
32:00it is.
32:01It's pretty scary when you consider this is the engine behind the U.S. military and intelligence
32:07apparatus and sort of the top structure or part of the top structure of the whole empire
32:13that they can do just about anything and not really face a threat from the people here.
32:18You know, I see what's this stuff going on in Georgia today.
32:22To me, it looks like the U.S. intel is trying to do another Maidan.
32:26They've got this foreign agent registration act that the government wants to regulate
32:32some of the nonprofits that are in the country, like CIA.
32:37The government, which is kind of captive, the elements of it are kind of captive of
32:41the Western Ready and the outside, and these nonprofits and the EU are dangling the possibility
32:48of Georgia joining the EU, which some people make a lot of money if that happens.
32:52But they're tying it to this law and basically telling the people of Georgia that if this
32:58law regulating these nonprofits is passed, you'll never get in the EU.
33:02And that's the same thing that happened in Ukraine, was used as bait to organize this
33:07anti-government protest.
33:08First of all, if you're going to understand anything, you should always have multiple
33:13alternative presentations of fact to consider.
33:17You know, if I tell you someone is five foot 11 and I tell you nothing else about them,
33:21you really don't know anything about them.
33:23Now go find them.
33:24This person is five foot 11.
33:27Is it he or she?
33:28Do they weigh five pounds or 500 pounds?
33:31Do they limp on their left leg?
33:32The more data you have, the larger your data set, the more of an understanding you have
33:36about things.
33:37Here, across the board, and this is a phenomenon that I watched it develop.
33:42When I was five years old, I used to go to the store over the course of the day.
33:48In New York City, there were six, seven daily newspapers, and then there was a local one
33:53where I was in Irvington, New York and in Austin, New York.
33:56And it was my job to go assemble them as they came in, pick up the morning papers, pick
34:00up the afternoon paper, pick up the evening paper, because they came that way, and leave
34:05them for my father to read.
34:06I read them all myself.
34:08I learned the second or third day that I did that, that I had to fold them back just so
34:12and whatever.
34:13And so each of these papers, you would see stories, some big ones.
34:17Like I remember what they call the Cuban Missile Crisis here, for example, in October 1962.
34:24I was eight.
34:25I was eight years old.
34:26I remember reading the Journal American, the Daily News, the New York Times, the Wall
34:31Street Journal, the Herald Tribune, and the Daily Mirror.
34:35They were talking about different things.
34:37On some issues like that, there was a unity of, I'll call it now, ideological perspective
34:43with respect to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
34:46Soviet Union was wrong, Cuba is evil, and we're right.
34:49That was true across the spectrum of coverage.
34:53But there were some very significant differences in the narrative, and also in which facts
34:58were presented in different papers.
35:00And you also had multiplicity of television stations later, like this existed then.
35:07I didn't see it, but from 65 on, I saw it.
35:10We had CBS, NBC, ABC, something called Metro Media, which is now Fox, something else that
35:16was adjacent to the Daily News and Chicago Tribune, and then a PBS, a public station.
35:24Each one had their own news department, and each of the news departments presented what
35:28they thought was important.
35:30Sometimes there was a story in one that wasn't in any of the others, and it was of some significance.
35:35Other times they all covered the same story, but they told different tales.
35:39This changed over time, and I was watching it close.
35:45From the, say, 1978 forward, I was involved as a public access television producer.
35:52In 1978, 79, while this was starting, saw that and got involved.
35:57And so from there, I was watching both the law around communications, and also the practice
36:02and the business that was going on.
36:05During the 80s, shortly after I got involved, Ronald Reagan removed a regulation that was
36:11called the Fairness Doctrine that put a public service requirement on the private, most
36:18media in the United States, privately owned, even though you had the idea that these holders
36:25of these licenses to broadcast should not be able to control or dominate the public
36:30discussion.
36:31So if they're going to present some controversial issue, or someone that's presenting a controversial
36:37issue, they have to give equal time and prominence in terms of placement in their programming
36:44to someone of the opposite view.
36:46Now, I realize the reality is not binary like that, and what they did was a binary system.
36:52That was called the Fairness Doctrine.
36:54That was the extent of public involvement in the broadcasting.
36:58They eliminated that in the 80s.
37:00In the 90s, both the rise of the internet and all kinds of social media starting to
37:06bud, they negotiated an entirely new regime for telecommunications in the United States
37:12called the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
37:15This was Bill Clinton and Al Gore, and what are now the tech giants.
37:20And what that did was place control of the internet in the hands of these, in essence,
37:26private interests.
37:27You have internet, you have Google and Microsoft and all these monsters.
37:32And as these things happened, the ownership of the newspapers, where I had seven, now
37:39there's two, and they're owned by the same company and the New York Times, so there's
37:43three.
37:44There's the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post are both owned by Murdoch, for example.
37:49And those two and the New York Times are the New York City newspapers now.
37:52I mean, there's little inconsequential ones, but that's it.
37:56Same happened with television.
37:57You now have Fox, CNN, MSNBC, and then CBS and ABC and NBC.
38:07That's essentially the media landscape.
38:09I think the first time I really noticed it, which was before the 96 Telecom Act, was in
38:15the propaganda for the first war in Iraq in 1990-91, where no matter where you turned,
38:24everyone was talking about tying yellow ribbons around trees and incubator babies and the
38:31whole bit.
38:32There wasn't really a dissenting voice anywhere.
38:35You know, we used to have, our televisions had stations in New York, Metropolitan New
38:40York, Channel 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13, seven stations.
38:47You'd had six, seven distinct points of view at that time.
38:51We now have hundreds of television stations, and with the internet outside of private regular
38:58citizens, an infinite number of television stations, all saying one thing, one thing.
39:03They all say one thing.
39:05And that's our entire media scape.
39:07So it's a tough environment for anything else.
39:14And this was another episode of Shine On Now, a show that opens a window to the present
39:18and the future of the Asian guy.
39:20And hope you enjoyed it.
39:21See you next time.