I REFER to Fanny Wong's column about media manipulation (South China Morning Post, January 4).
To argue her case, Miss Wong assumes that the journalist who swam with the New China News Agency director was rewarded with an exclusive tip on when the official would retire.
She also insinuates that in gratitude for the scoop the Chinese newspaper in question obsequiously praised Zhou Nan 'as a very capable diplomat' and gave 'heavy coverage' to the advisers' meeting in Sanya, Hainan.
She then expresses her fear about self-censorship, present and future, as well as decries 'the dangerous trend of sloppy journalism creeping into the newsroom'.
The last quote conveys my feelings exactly.
You see I happen to be the only person who went into the water with Mr Zhou that day and after we swam to about 200 metres offshore we were joined by one and only one reporter from another recently established English language newspaper.
The three of us swam together for about three quarters of an hour during which hardly any conversation took place or could have taken place for the wind was brisk and the waves were strong.