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Letters | US media is free to expose national scandals. Can Chinese media do this?
- Readers write about the hallmark of a free press, how the attitude to the English language has changed in Hong Kong, and why students don’t do more to improve their English skills
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Some Chinese internet users argue that there is no difference between Chinese media and the media in democratic countries because they all serve a political purpose. They give examples to show CNN supporting the Democrats and Fox News defending the Republicans. So, they say, it is unfair to be hostile towards Chinese media.
I would give this statement some credit – it’s really hard for media outlets to be completely neutral, whether private or state-owned.
But The New York Times offers a perfect illustration of the difference. The newspaper has just revealed that 2019 US army air strikes in Syria aimed at members of Islamic State had also killed up to 64 women and children. It’s something the US army had tried to conceal as it would damage America’s reputation. Yet the paper published the story.
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Narrowly speaking, the difference between Chinese media and the free press elsewhere is how much the truth is respected when it comes to human rights and humanitarian issues, and also how much reporting freedom there is when it comes to news that could affect the nation’s reputation. Different media groups may have their own stance and preferences, but can they be just when it comes to exposing secrets like this?
If there are no secrets to keep, then the government should not be afraid of the media or feel the need to try to control it. The Hong Kong immigration department recently refused to renew a work visa for The Economist reporter Sue-Lin Wong without giving any explanation. One wonders what the Hong Kong government is afraid of.
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Chloe Hui, Yuen Long
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