ANYONE tuning into the BBC on STAR TV these days around the Asia-Pacific region will be able to see a trailer for the Beeb's authoritative news service which shows footage from the hot-spots of the world.
Images from Bosnia, Somalia and other strife-ridden parts of our global village flash on to the screen showing there are no limits to man's inhumanity to man.
But wait. What image do you think leaves the most heart-rendering impression? Why, it's the pathetic sight of Vietnamese boat people being dragged and bundled kicking and screaming on board an aircraft by Hong Kong's khaki-clad finest. (And how appropriate that this trailer should be airing currently when the overall future of the boat people is being debated in Geneva.) This is, of course, a gross misrepresentation of the facts and the Hong Kong Government should take the usually reliable BBC to task over the matter.
As we all know the Vietnamese were ''volunteering'' to return to a bright and exciting future in their homeland - or at least that's what the Hong Kong authorities and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees keep telling us.
And who are the BBC to give any impression to the contrary?