INTRO: segment number one --"And now the news..."

AFTER  A DECADE OF ECONOMIC REFORM UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF DENG-XIAO-PING...CHINA HAS UNDERGONE SOME ENORMOUS CHANGES . 

TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE DRAMATIC SHIFTS CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE...WE BEGIN A TEN PART SERIES ENTITLED POSTCARDS FROM CHINA TO CLOSELY EXAMINE VARIOUS  ASPECTS  OF CHINESE SOCIETY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A WESTERN JOURNALIST.

ERIC OLANDER HAS BEEN TRAVELING THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND IN HIS FIRST POSTCARD HE REPORTS FROM THE SMALL TOWN OF JIU-JIANG ALONG THE YANGTZE RIVER.  THERE HE DISCOVERS....PEOPLE HAVE A LOT ON THEIR MINDS. (:26)

 STORY:

AT FIRST...JUST COLD HARD STARES.  EXPRESSIONLESS PEOPLE LOOKING AT THE STRANGE FOREIGNER AND ALL HIS STUFF....IT'S NOT VERY OFTEN THAT SOMEONE WITH BLONDE HAIR...PALE SKIN AND BLUE EYES COMES WANDERING THROUGH THE RURAL PARTS.  WHAT AN UNUSUAL AND STRANGE LOOKING PERSON.

 SO I JUST SIT THERE...I KNOW THAT EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT ME....BUT THERE REALLY ISN'T MUCH I CAN DO ABOUT IT.  UNTIL I  START TO LOOK AROUND AND MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH PEOPLE.  THEN THERE'S ALWAYS ONE PERSON IN THE CROWD THAT LOOKS AT ME WITH A LITTLE MORE INTEREST THAN THE REST....TO THAT PERSON I'LL SAY SOMETHING LIKE HELLO OR NI HAO HA.  AND FROM THIS POINT ON EVERYTHING'S CHANGED. (:31)

 THE ONCE INTIMIDATING FACELESS STARES IMMEDIATELY TRANSFORM THEMSELVES INTO GIANT SMILES OVER THE FACT THAT THE FOREIGNER CAN SPEAK CHINESE.  AND INSTEAD OF PEOPLE KEEPING THEIR DISTANCE FROM ME...THEY'LL APPROACH AND POUND ME WITH ALL SORTS OF QUESTIONS...HOW DID I LEARN MY CHINESE?  DO I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?  IF NOT...WHAT DO I THINK OF CHINESE WOMEN?  WHERE DO I COME FROM?  DO ALL AMERICANS DRESS LIKE I DO? AND WHAT DO I THINK OF CHINA? 

 A TURNING POINT IN EVERY ONE OF THESE DISCUSSIONS COMES WHEN THEY ASK ME WHAT SORT OF WORK I DO.  WHEN I TELL THEM I'M A JOURNALIST...IN THIS CASE WORKING FOR THE BBC...THE CONVERSATIONS TAKE ON A DISTINCTLY POLITICAL TONE.  NOW THE QUESTIONS ARE GEARED TOWARDS CHINA'S HUMAN RIGHTS POLICES....BEIJING'S BID FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN THE YEAR 2000....U-S PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON AND THE RENEWAL OF CHINA'S MOST-FAVORED-NATION TRADE STATUS....(1:13)

 WHAT AMAZES ME MOST ABOUT THESE DISCUSSIONS IS THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION THAT PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE HAVE ACCESS TO.  IT WAS ONLY A SHORT WHILE AGO THAT GOVERNMENT NEWSPAPERS SERVED AS THE ONLY LINKS TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD.  THERE WERE INTERNATIONAL RADIO SERVICES SUCH AS THE B-B-C....THE VOICE OF AMERICA AND RADIO FRANCE INTERNATIONAL....BUT DUE TO THE HIGH COST AND LIMITED AVAILABILITY OF SHORT WAVE RADIOS....AS WELL AS THE GOVERNMENT'S EFFORTS IN SCRAMBLING THESE BROADCASTS....TUNING IN WAS DIFFICULT.  BUT TODAY THE SITUATION IS VERY DIFFERENT.  (1:40)

NOW SHORT WAVE RADIOS ARE A LOT MORE AFFORDABLE AND ARE ON SALE IN MANY DEPARTMENT STORES...AND THE GOVERNMENT HAS OBVIOUSLY LOOSENED ITS SCRAMBLING POLICY BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE PERSON I SPOKE WITH SAID THEY HAD RECENTLY LISTENED TO THE B-B-C OR THE V-O-A.  THOUGH THEY MAY NOT OWN A SHORT WAVE RADIO....IT WAS ALWAYS THE CASE THAT SOMEONE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD OR VILLAGE DID.

THESE STREETSIDE DISCUSSIONS WITH PEOPLE ALSO REVEALED THAT INTERNATIONAL T-V NEWS IS A LOT MORE ACCESSIBLE AS A RESULT OF CHEAPER AND MORE AVAILABLE SATELLITE DISHES.  AND WITHIN THE DOMESTIC PRESS WELL THERE ARE A LOT MORE CHOICES ON THE NEWSSTANDS AS WELL. (2:10)

LIFE IN THE INFORMATION AGE IS ALREADY HAVING A IMPACT ON AGRARIAN CHINESE SOCIETY.

 FOR A JOURNALIST IT IS A REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE TO WITNESS FIRSTHAND HOW PEOPLE CONSUME THE NEWS YOU HELP TO PRODUCE.  IN THE VILLAGE OF YANG-SHUO IN GUANGXI PROVINCE I WAS INVITED TO A FRIEND'S HOME FOR A MEAL.  AFTER WE ATE....HIS FAMILY AND SOME OF THEIR FRIENDS CAME OVER TO LISTEN TO THE B-B-C NEWS ON THE RADIO.  (2:35) FOR MILLIONS OF FAMILIES THIS IS A COMMON SCENARIO....PEOPLE GATHERING ROUND THE RADIO AND T-V TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY AND THE WORLD AROUND THEM. (2:39)

BACK ON THE STREETS...IN THESE DISCUSSIONS....AFTER A HALF HOUR OR SO OF ENERGETICALLY DEBATING ALL SORTS OF ISSUES....WE WOULD ALL SHAKE HANDS SMILE AND GO OUR OWN WAYS. RARELY WOULD WE AGREE ON ALL THE ISSUES....BUT SIGNIFICANTLY WE WALKED AWAY KNOWING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE POSITIONS...VALUES AND IDEALS OF THE OTHER PERSON.

 WITH A POSTCARD FROM CHINA...I'M ERIC OLANDER IN JIU-JIANG. (3:00)

 OUTRO:

IN OUR NEXT POSTCARD...ERIC TRAVELS TO BEIJING WHERE OLYMPIC FEVER IS SWEEPING THE TOWN

 © BBC World Service 1993