December 9, 2003
The Daily Global Reality Show... Let's take five with Moira Gunn. This is "Five Minutes."
What better way to learn about a country than to read its newspapers? You get the local take on world news, politics, business and sports, and you really get a sense of place when you read the job listings, real estate or the advertising. Surprisingly, that's even true in the People's Republic of China.
While I can't read a single word - or would that be character? - of Chinese, that doesn't stop me from perusing its newspapers. You can find the China Daily at chinadaily.com.cn, the ".cn," of course, stands for China. Besides its flagship paper, you get access to all its others: Shanghai Star, the Hong Kong Edition, Business Weekly, 21st Century and Beijing Weekend. And don't forget the competition: there's The Shanghai Daily and the People's Daily.
They all have advertising, both online and in print. In fact, if you google "Worker's Daily," first up is the website where you can place your order ... Karl Marx must be turning in his grave.
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Some would argue that the foremost disseminator of worldwide information is television, but what we see is what the broadcasters elect to package. With print - and now, text online - so much more information is available and constantly replenished, while readers have instantaneous choice. No doubt these websites are specifically tailored for English speakers, but the sheer volume of information put them well beyond the effective reach of propaganda.
Let's start with the report of one young lady who's begun a "three-week plastic surgery marathon" to make her round face appear oval. Paid for by a Chinese tabloid newspaper, the total price for the eventual round of 10 operations is $12,000 US - barely enough to get yourself a little tune-up stateside. Follow similar stories and other facts emerge: Shanghai No 9 People's Hospital now performs over 50 plastic surgeries each day. South Korean plastic surgeons are the most highly prized of all and commute to Shanghai monthly, commanding the highest fees. You will also learn why these stories are so newsworthy: China is a society where to change the face you inherited from your parents is to show them disrespect.
You not only read the news; you will come to read it with new eyes.
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Things I've learned on my World Wide Web vacations through China is that China's oldest hydropower plant has been shut down after generating electricity for nearly a century, its river so polluted with acid it has permanently damaged both its turbines and the dam. I ask myself: Could infrastructure problems move China to a sustainable future far more effectively than international pressure?
And there are always discussions about population: Shanghai has just exceeded 20 million, with a "floating population" of 3 million. And I wonder: Does China's propaganda machine really want me to know that all these people refuse to live where the government tells them to?
Just like everywhere, there are ideas for what do with your time off: "A barbecue is just the thing to stave off Beijing's winter chill," which was alarmingly followed by a sub-link to: "Seduced by Salsa". I must say I was relieved to find out this was simply the lowdown on the Latin dance craze in Beijing and not some curious relationship with hot sauce.
My suggestion to you is pick a country - any country - and start rooting around. Link to what interests you, and before you know it, you'll realize it's an uncensored reality show that's hard to turn away from.
I'm Moira Gunn. This is Five Minutes.
