by Moritz Nicolaus Lohmann
Co – Founder of Hamburg Welcomes You, Germany
The first question that I keep getting asked is: what is your impression? And: is this your first time here? And for most of us that is the case – they will be blown away by the scenery by the nature and by the atmosphere of this metropolis.
But even for me, who has been here 10 years ago, the city is nearly unrecognizable. High buildings, some bridges as well. And a few metro lines had been built.
But to me, it’s as if the whole city has gotten a new paint in the last 10 years. Skylines that used to be defined by beige and gray now show multiple shapes, sizes, tints and shadings. Riversides that used to have only space for cars now have walkways and bike lanes.
And finally things that used to look old and ran down were not all replaced by new high-rise buildings. Instead, they were upgraded through processes of urban revitalization.
Old warehouses were turned into public gathering places and cafes, deserted streets into fashionable walking, alleys, and factories into galleries. This does not only save resources like cement and the environment, but also creates a cozy space that attracts locals and tourists alike.
I call for more projects like these and argue that visiting countries like mine, Germany can learn a thing or two from the example of Beicang. We will probably not build many 30 story high-rise buildings any time soon. But we might be able to turn an industrial area into an art disctrict – just like Chongqing.
But in order to properly learn from each other, we need more exchange forums like this one. In fact, I argue we should take this forum as a blueprint for future endeavors:
-High-level local representatives that talk with you, not AT you
-an engaging program that shows more than just conference centers, and maybe the city around it, but also natural landmarks and historical sites that show how things used to be so one might better understand development over time
And of course, a highly engaged hosting organization that is well organized and does not get overwhelmed by the complexity of hosting a forum with journalist from over 45 countries.
So thank you, all China Journalist association, and thank you to the city of Chongqing. You have given us a great example. Now let’s hope we can see forums like elsewhere in the world – it will be a hard lead to follow.
And while I’m at this, let me call for the creation of more opportunities for young journalists to participate in exactly these kind of exchanges. My Master thesis is exactly about this:
I interviewed business travelers before, and after the first trip to China. I asked them to rate their perception of China as an actor on the world stage, their perception of the Chinese population, and the likelihood of them engaging with China again after the trip. In all three questions, I could see a notable uptake after the journey.
And I had my findings with outlets in Germany – but I am 26 years old. And while that may not be enough to be taken seriously by legacy media in my own country, it is enough to tell you the following.
There used to be a journalism exchange program between Germany and China. It was financed by the bosch foundation, a German industry giant. It was discontinued a few years ago and one can see the result in German media broadcasts already:
Many reports on China fail in fact checking, aiming less for nuance then for a clickbaity headline that matches and confirms pre-existing stereotypes.
This can be avoided when the exact people that do the background research for these reports have been to China. When they have scanned the WeChat of a local journalist, they might be able to ask for advice on a story. When they have met someone that is not afraid to talk about certain topics with them – given mutual decency.
And this is also how we can defeat the phenomenon I call the “China news gap”.
The Chinese Internet is a difficult place to navigate even for someone like who speaks a bit of the language. So I will never ever expect for journalist to get their sources in the original language. But what is done often instead – the copying of article content written by other foreign news outlets about China – creates a two-sided Internet that is unhealthy for both sides.
And while I don’t want to discredit the work of foreign correspondence in China – they do an important and excellent job – There are also Chinese news stories in English. And they come from various platforms with a diverse nature of backgrounds.
So let me sum up this speech:
-We’ve learned in china (from China) that new buildings aren’t everything and rebuilding is becoming increasingly attractive.
-we’ve seen that great international journalism forums are possible and necessary in order to maintain a fair mutual discourse
-and I’ve argued that the inclusion of more young journalists would be vital to create a respectful dialogue even in the future
-lastly I called for researching journalists to be mindful in the reports about China and to consider a multitude of sources
It will frankly be impossible to invite every journalist to China. But! We can take the learnings of this trip and apply it in the next newsroom, in the next discussion with others on a China-related headline and even in China related discussions of our private lives.
So once more: a big thanks to the organizers, but also a big thanks to all of you delegates! To late night discussions in the lobby about journalistic challenges. To joking around in the bus about things we see on the road. Every participant has made this week CQ that much more inspiring.
I will close with a Chinese proverb: 百闻不如一见: hearing about something 100 times is not the same as seeing it once. And I’m very happy that we all got to see it at least once.
All the best to everyone.
*The views and opinions expressed in the articles are solely those of the individual authors and do not reflect the position of the Secretariat of the Belt and Road Journalist Network.