Chinese war reporter who worked in Middle East sees lessons for Hong Kong in its push for democracy
Shanghai native claims lessons are available from other countries’ setbacks
Residents of one of the safest cities in the world might find it hard to imagine living in a war zone, except for viewing horrifying news images.
Hong Kong-based war reporter Zhou Yijun knows the horror first-hand from covering conflicts in the Middle East and believes other countries’ upheaval could offer valuable lessons for the city in the push for greater democracy.
Promoting her new book, A Portrait of Revolution, Zhou shared her experiences and thoughts after working in some of the world’s most devastated areas, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Israel, Egypt and Libya.
In 2002, she was posted to the Gaza Strip as a correspondent for Xinhua to cover the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. During her two-year assignment, the veteran journalist witnessed numerous bomb attacks and said she narrowly escaped death many times.
“It’s hard to explain things there based on what I was told in the past,” she said. “For example, we believe in China that good people should be rewarded. But in reality, war is indiscriminate towards everyone, whether you’re good or evil.”