When reporting the incident in Tibet last month, a CNN website photograph shows a person running in front of a Chinese military truck — but it cropped out rioters stoning it. 1 The Washington post also provided false information 2 on the issue. Then some western media choose to report only the protests during the Beijing Olympics torch relay, ignoring the fact that far more supporters of the games showed up for the relays.
This type of biased report could lead audiences to form a negative image of China, stirring up anti-China sensation and collective misunderstanding of China.
The media may justify their unprofessional actions as providing moral support for the protesters who advocate Tibet independence. This justification is hypocritical. The fact is that Tibet has been part of China since 13th century and still is part of China today. 3 Whatever wrongs and new oppressions that may have been introduced by the Chinese government after 1959, the Chinese government did abolish slavery and the Tibetan serfdom system of unpaid labor. 4 Those who lost their privileges are the lamas and landlords. Today, Tibetans even enjoy more freedom than Han ethnic in China. For example, Tibetans are exempt from China’s one child policy. The Tibetan population growth is higher than national average since 1970. Tibetan life expectancy increased from 35.5 years in 1951 to 67 years in 2005.
Before you read another report about China, you may want to get the other side of the story.
For readers interested in learning more about Tibet, click here.