New Media Freshens China-Asean Diplomacy

A billboard-size screen of its website greets visitors to the People's Daily Online (PD Online) centre here as it flashes up-to-the minute reports of China and the world.

Launched on Jan 1, 1997 by People's Daily -- one of the world's top 10 newspapers -- the website has transformed into one of the largest comprehensive media on the Internet.
People's Daily Online -- http://www.people.com.cn -- releases news, covering various fields including politics, economy, society and culture, in real time and round-the-clock with the support of the newspaper's more than 70 branches home and abroad.
Apart from pictures and text numbering up to 10,000 news items per day, the website uses animation, audio and video clips, the BBS forum, blog, podcast and webcast that has boosted its daily page-view to chart as much as 200 million.

To appeal to the young audience who surf the internet by cellphones, it has also combined news releases with games and working with businesses to offer 'trendies' like E-book.
Besides the Chinese version (traditional and modern Chinese), the website offers six foreign languages -- English, Japanese, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic.
More could be added over time as PD Online president He Jiazheng said it hoped to have more languages, when asked if the website would consider having Bahasa Melayu.
"We will need time but we hope one day, we will have this language," he told participants of the just-concluded China-Asean Media Cooperation Seminar, the fourth since its launch in 2002, and hosted by People's Daily.
We had the chance to visit the place last Thursday, Narch 25.


After a decade of existence, the website has become an important window to enable international readers to understand and take a glimpse of China.
But, what's more crucial is that its success story has provided lessons on how new and traditional media could co-exist and supplement one another.
He said the rapid growth of new media had put tremendous pressure on, and poses great challenges to, the traditional media.
"Statistics from the World Association of Newspapers show, in 2009, 507 newspapers in the US saw drastic decreases in circulation.
"The Japanese newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, the world's second biggest newspaper, was suffering from its first deficit in 130 years since the start of publication.
"And in France, 154 out of every 1,000 French citizens buy newspapers regularly.
"The total revenue of The New York Times dipped 11.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009 to US$680 million," he said.
Meanwhile, its Internet advertisement revenue rose 10.6 per cent to US$90.6 million, accounting for 23 per cent of all its advertisement revenue, he said.
This, he said, showed that along with the challenges, the media found even more opportunities and new sources of revenue.
With publication having begun in June 1948 and a current circulation of three million, People's Daily is among the most influential and authoritative newspapers in China. According to UNESCO, it takes its place among the world's top 10.
He said, while the 14-year-old website depended on the People's Daily group financial support in its early years, it had recorded profit over the last two years and "made some contribution to the group" .
Its well-equipped audio-visual studio for live internet coverage was built, using its own revenue.
"From this year, we expect business to be better," he said.
Much of the success hinged on the dedication of its 600-odd staff, most of whom are young and versatile for multi-tasking.

Mugshot photographs of the staff, with the words: "Why Can't We Be Number 1?" adorned one of the hallway walls of the old printing press building which was refurbished into a digitalised news operation centre.
On another strategic point was a picture of Chinese President Hu Jintao communicating with netizens when he went to PD Online on June 20, 2008.
The website is a perfect model for the theme, 'New Media Development', chosen for the seminar which is held every two years.
Asean Secretariat assistant director Linda Lee said, with new technology for mobile phones and the internet, the spread of new media was likely to increase, enhancing greater interactivity.
"In Asean, we have a relatively young population - about half of the 580 million people. The new media -- blogging, social networks, video sharing, podcasting etc -- may appeal more to them than traditional media," she said.
It was good news for the Asean delegates when a senior official in charge of the country's press policy assured them that China was prepared to discuss viable media projects to strengthen cooperation with the 10 member-grouping.
Liu Yunshan, head of publicity department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the mechanism for such ventures were institutionalised through the China-Asean Media Cooperation Seminar.
"There is big potential for us to strengthen cooperation, particularly in media technology. What is important is to identify good projects and ensure their efficiency," he said.

'Lempeng' breakfast in Beijing...

It's fascinating that simple things like 'lempeng' or pancakes could turned out to be a source of income.
The closest to describe an everyday lempeng in Malaysia is probably the tosai easily found in restaurants all over the country. But 'Lempeng' sold on carts for breakfast is rare in Malaysia.
So it was delightful to see a husband-and-wife selling them on the road pavement not far from the Shangri-La Kerry Centre in Beijing.
Getting a freshly-cooked lempeng in this cold weather is nice.
When we touched down on Tuesday morning, the temperature was zero degree.

But Alhamdullillah, we were spared of the sandstorm which swamped the Chinese capital a few days earlier.
The warm clothing and birthday wishes from friends as I turned 49 in Beijing yesterday kept my spirits high.

The hotel surprised me when it brought a piece of cake to my room.
Thank you all.

Beijing's Oldest Mosque Attracts Worldwide Visitors...

Wearing a songkok from Malaysia, the imam of Beijing's oldest and largest mosque happily ushered visitors into the mosque compound.

Sixty-two-year-old Taudin Baiyuchin said Muslims from all over the world visit the mosque which covers 10,000 sq metres and represents a mixture of Islamic and Chinese cultures.
Halal food eateries and supermarket are easily available in the area.
"I'm very happy to see Muslims from all over the world coming to this mosque. All Muslims are brothers," he said as he held an A-4 size note book containing comments from visitors from all over.
"This songkok is a gift from a visitor from Malaysia," he said smiling.
Built in 996, the Niujie Mosque is located in Beijing's Xuanwu district, the largest area inhabited by Muslims in this capital which has transformed itself into a modern, vibrant city.

Taudin, who has been an imam at the mosque for 10 years, said he remembered former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, before he became prime minister, visiting the mosque.
"Malaysians are warm-hearted people, friendly, and the country is beautiful...I've seen this from photos but I would want to go there if I have the chance," he said.
The Chinese government has funded several projects for the refurbishment of the mosque, described as one of the most famous mosques in the world, since 1949.

In 2005, the Government provided 25 million Yuan for its expansion and refurbishment -- the largest construction project so far -- including rebuilding of the Women's Hall.
The imam of Ningxia Province, Ding Guobao, 42, who was at the mosque last Friday, said Muslim visitors to China would be interested to visit his northwest province which had among the largest Muslim populations in the country.
"We have a population of over two million Muslims, a lot of mosques and halal food restaurants.

"We are also known for our sinseh and calligraphy," said Ding, who was on his way to an Islamic meeting in Egypt.
A group of Malaysian students taking Mandarin at the Beijing Foreign Studies University and a visiting group of airport staff from Penang were among those who performed Friday prayers at the mosque yesterday.

Taking up the challenge...

When a group of 54 Malaysian students took up the challenge to learn Mandarin here five months ago, they knew very little of the language, if at all.
Today, they overcome their initial apprehension and adapted themselves to the challenge, and the cold weather.

"We were quite apprehensive initially when offered to learn Mandarin here but we managed to adapt to the curriculum and the environment," said Syazwan Shamim, 19, of Melaka.
He is among 54 students who accepted the Education Ministry's offer to learn Mandarin at the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), a world renowned language institution here.
"I am determined to master the language; this is in line with the 1Malaysia concept in which the people should understand one another," he said when met after performing the Friday prayers at Niujie Mosque, the oldest and biggest mosque in this Chinese capital city.
Muhaimi Razali, 21, from Kelantan said although difficult, he was determined to learn the language.
"I'm all prepared to face the challenge and that is why I agreed to sign an eight-year contract with the education ministry before coming here," he said.
The course will run for five years.

About 100 Malaysian students are taking up Mandarin at the university.
The move to send Malaysian students at the BFSU, which offers 36 language courses including Malay, is a follow up to the effort to internationalise the Malaysian education system.
Hishammuddin Hussein, who was then the education minister, visited the university on May 21, 2007, resulting in the signing of a memorandum on the exchange of students between the ministry's teachers' education division and the BFSU.
I remember the event all too well as I was part of his delegation.
Hishammuddin broke new ground being the first Malaysian Education Minister to visit China after 10 years.

China's extends 'media diplomacy' to Asean...

China is prepared to discuss viable media projects to strengthen ties with Asean, says a senior official in charge of the country's press policy.
Liu Yunshan, head of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said the mechanism for such ventures had been set through the China-Asean Media Cooperation Seminar, held every two years.

"As I see it, there is big potential for us to strengthen cooperation, particularly in media technology.
"What is important is to identify good projects and ensure their efficiency," he told participants of the seminar -- the fourth in its series -- who called on him at the Great Hall of the People.
Coincidently, visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai was meeting his Chinese host at another wing of the building at the same time.
Liu says media cooperation would be a significant component of China-Asean relationship, which had been boosted with the launch of the China-Asean Free Trade Area on January 1.
"We always believe that Asean countries are our neighbours, good friends and trustworthy partners," said Liu, a member of the political bureau of CPC Central Committee.
Describing the seminar as a success, he said the theme chosen on the challenges of new media was timely.
"The China-Asean Media Cooperation Seminar has increasingly been institutionalised...that's good because it has established a platform for media cooperation between China and Asean," he said.
He invited the Asean media organisations to send their reporters and photographers to cover the World Expo in Shanghai from May 1 to October and the Asian Games and Asian Paralympic Games in Guangzhou in October.

New Media To Enhance Asean-China Cooperation...

Media officials and editors from around the region exchanged notes on new media with their Chinese host as they sought ways to harness the technology at the fourth Asean-China Media Cooperation Seminar in Beijing today.

Hosted by the People's Daily, the three-day seminar focused on the current development of new websites, trends and applications of new media technology.
In his address, People's Daily President Zhang Yannong described the relationship between traditional media and new media as "interwoven partners".
"Although new media has changed the pattern of information dissemination and the situation of the media industry, the content is of the highest priority and is still the nature of information transmission.

"In fact, traditional media remains the "content providers" for many news websites, which is the advantage that we live by.
"New media should not be opponents to traditional media, but our partners to create a win-win situation.
"New media will bring new vigour and vitality to traditional media, and it will make us even more influential than ever before through multimedia and other new technologies."
Vice Minister at the State Council Information Office Qian Xiaoqian said China's Internet users had reached 384 million, with an Internet penetration rate of around 29 per cent, exceeding the world average. China began to have access to Internet in 1994.

He said that at the current pace of development, in the next two to three years, the number of Chinese Internet users was expected to be more than 500 million in the next two to three years.
Among new Internet users in China, 75 per cent were in rural areas, which indicated that China was rapidly bridging the digital divide urban and rural areas.

China-Malaysia trade expansion top priority ...

China's Ambassador to Malaysia, Liu Jian, has placed expansion of trade and investment between Malaysia and China as his top priority for this year.
He expressed confidence that the full implementation of the China-Asean Free Trade Area (FTA) this year would accelerate economic development between China and Malaysia.

He spoke about the optimism to the Malaysian media at a luncheon at his residence in Kuala Lumpur.
Liu said he expected trade exchanges between Malaysian and Chinese businessmen to reach new heights this year especially with the implementation of the agreements and in tandem with the global economic recovery.
"Our businesses are already actively pursuing their trade links with their Malaysian counterparts, and we would like to welcome Malaysian companies to continue investing in China,” he said.
In 2009, the bilateral trade volume reached US$50 billion (about RM170.1 billion).
Liu said bilateral ties between Malaysia and China entered a new chapter following visits by both national leaders to each other's country last year.
Both countries formalised three agreements and one memorandum of understanding (MoU) when Prime Minister Najib Razak made his first official visit to China in June 2009.
The first agreement signed between Malaysia and China witnessed by Najib and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao was the Malaysia-China Joint Action Plan on Strategic Cooperation.

The second agreement was the Abolition of Visa Agreement which covered regulations on the travel of holders of diplomatic and official or service passports.
These personnel will no longer be required to get visas for travel to China or Malaysia.
The third document signed between the two countries was the Marine Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement.
The MoU signed was the Malaysia-China Postal Cooperation MoU.
On education, Liu also expressed hope that there would be closer collaboration between Malaysia and China.
He said there were about one million Chinese students studying in Malaysia.
At the same time, there were also about 2,000 Malaysian students doing their courses in China, he added.
The ambassador hoped more non-Chinese students from Malaysia would study in the republic.
On tourism, Liu said China was currently expanding its tourism market and would encourage more of its citizens to visit Malaysia.
He said an estimated one million Malaysians visited China last year.
Similarly, he added, some one million Chinese nationals visited Malaysia last year, with more expected to come, especially parents of students pursuing their studies in Malaysia.
BERNAMA