ABOVE: Chinese Medical Team at Liberia’s premier public health center (JFK Medical Center), December 21, 2018). Front row (left-right): Liu Li (Ultrasound doctor), Yu Chunmei (Nurse), Hao Hongliang (Surgeon, Team Leader) and Sun Xiuli (Interpreter). Back row (left to right): Zhang Chunnan (Internist), Li Dongbai (Cook), Liu Yang (Gynecologist & Obstetrician), and Ding Yuxin (TCM—Traditional Chinese Medicine) Photo credit: Sun Xiuli—interpreter/China Medical Team.
By Samuel G. Dweh/Freelance Journalist
Liberia’s independent media is being drawn into the ‘political rivalry’ between some of the World’s militarily and economically advanced Nations fighting for global supremacy over others.
A Monrovia-based Embassy of one of these Western Countries has complained to the Managing Editor of a private newspaper for publishing my story on the China Medical Team (pictured above), with the heading: “ ‘Only China Didn’t Abandon Liberia’…—Chinese Medical Team on Ebola, other health issues in Liberia”, published in the February 15, 2019 edition of the paper. The headline is a paraphrase of a comment by one of the Chinese doctors during an interview the team entertained from me and other Liberian journalists from two Government’s media entities.
The China Medical Team story was one of several I sent last year (2018) to another editor of the paper to publish, but the guy kept most of the stories until 2019.
When I asked the editor (we meet on Friday, February 22, 2019) if the delay in publishing my Chinese stories at the time we agreed on (December, 2018) was due to an ethical problem with any of the stories, the editor replied: “The only problem is with the story on the China Medical Team. My boss received an e-mail from….complaining about the story.
My boss forwarded the mail to me. The….expresses disappointment over our publishing the story, saying such headline—“only China didn’t abandon Liberia”—hurts Liberia’s other international development partners who helped Liberia on the fight against Ebola.”
NOTE: Each ellipsis (….) above represents the name of the Embassy, left out of this article for security reason.
HIDDEN THREAT IN A “COMPLAINT”
The concealed threat is: “Never again publish any story relaying self-praise by any Liberia-based Chinese State-sponsored group, over our work in Liberia.”
The old-time saying is: “He who pays the piper dictates the tunes”. This ‘complainant’ Embassy dictates the tune of Liberia’s independent media—to a greater extent—due to the Embassy’s huge financial support to the Liberian media—through the Home Government’s international aid channel, or through many UN Agencies, or through the mother-body of Liberia’s independent journalists and media institutions.
The Government of the People’s Republic of China is second on the list with mostly technical support—taking media institutions’ reporters/managers to China and training them in ‘development reporting’.
This newspaper—whose Managing Editor this Embassy ‘complained’ to—is the current ‘most favored’ among Liberian independent print media entities surviving on regular patronages (advertisements) from foreign entities: The ‘complainant’ Embassy, United Nations Agencies, and International NGOs.
MY CONCERN ON THE ‘COMPLAINT’
My worry on this Embassy’s ‘grievance’ is imagining myself being perceived (by the complainant Embassy or the Home Government) as an ‘impartial writer’ or against other Liberia’s foreign development partners (Governments) Such feeling could cause my being denied Visa to enter this ‘Paradise’ (Country with no economic hardship) Immigration officers’ accusation of commission of crime against me in this ‘Paradise’—assuming I’m allowed into ‘Paradise’—is another thought of my apprehension.
CHINA’S WORKS FOR LIBERIA DESERVES ‘PROMOTION’ TOO!
One political gambit by some of the World’s top economic rivals is to keep an opponent’s works in an African ally (Country) out of the print or broadcast of the leading media entity in the Country. One would do this by pumping money into this independent media—as “media empowerment fund”. The next thing that follows is a “complaint”—if the ‘sponsored’ media entity has published or aired any information that elevates the ‘image’ of the rival.
This, probably, is the case with China’s nation-building works for Liberia, which are most often ignored by many independent media institutions.
Do a comparative investigation on China’s works for Liberia and other Countries’ works for Liberia. You will discover two things. One—China’s assistance to Liberia in a short period (beginning from resumption of diplomatic ties between the two Countries, 2006 to 2018) is so huge, compared to assistance from any of another foreign development partners in this same period.
Two—Liberian media’s reportage on China’s works for Liberia (between 2006 and 2018) is low, compared to reports on other foreign Countries’ works for Liberia in the same period. Below are (some) of China’s developmental footprints in Liberia. (Listing all would take up a book-length space)
Roads—examples: Montserrado County-Bong County route; Fish Town (Rivergee County)—Harper (Maryland County) Road.
Buildings—examples: new Ministry of Health (Monrovia); Jackson F. Doe Hospital (Nimba County); Annex of the National Legislature on Capitol Hill (Monrovia); University of Liberia (Fendell Campus); Monrovia Vocational Training Institute (MVTI); Ministerial Complex (Monrovia)
Education—example: sponsorship of Chinese Language learning (at the University of Liberia); Chinese Language learning teaching at the Sanctified School (grade-school level: Nursery- 12th grade) in Congo Town (location: opposite the Ministerial Complex); scholarship programs for Liberian students at various Liberian universities; bamboo weaving and vegetable production training center near the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville; support to Liberian dialect preservation project (a private initiative by the Liberia Translation and Literacy Organization, LIBTRALO) by supply of computers; computer and Junior & Senior High Schools writing training pamphlet production fee to the Liberia Association of Writers (LAW)
Media capacity building for Liberian media (State-owned and private)—examples: computers, air conditioners, recorders to the Headquarters of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL); annual media-related trainings for various Liberian media journalists in China.
China’s gestures for Liberia’s development, like those stated above, are hardly reported on the news over majority Liberian radio or television stations; most publishers/chief editors of newspapers don’t publish them.
For now, only the Daily Observer regularly publishes ‘Chinese stories’ (under a special column), but the materials are sent from China. At the individual journalists’ levels, Chinese stories in Liberian papers are from their reporters on Media Training in China or are back into Liberia. These stories are published under a column—like “The China I Saw”, a column by Fedrick Gaye, editor at the In-Profile Newspaper, a returnee from the Chinese State-sponsored media training in China.
Liberian journalists hardly go to Chinese events in Liberia to get Chinese stories to promote—as they do for occasions by citizens or diplomatic missions of other economically advanced countries. And information from the Chinese Embassy’s public events—where the local media is given a special reception—seldom find a space in the news script or a space in the mediums of journalists who represented their entities at the program and received ‘gifts’ offered by the host.
ONE FOREIGN COUNTRY’S HELP CAN’T REBUILD LIBERIA
Just as one hand can’t bathe around a person’s body so is a needy Country with only one philanthropist foreign Country. Still on reconstruction process, following 14 years of civil war the destroyed most physical structures, Liberia needs financial or technical assistance from different kind Countries.
One of these helping Countries telling the needy Country’s (independent) media to “keep out” the “success story” of another foreign helping Country is indirectly saying: “Me alone can develop this Country.” It’s not possible!
A JOURNALIST FOR (ALL) LIBERIA’S FOREIGN DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS (GOVERNMENTS)
A development-oriented writer who zealously upholds the profession’s ethical principle of “balance” or “impartiality”, I always wish to report on (all) my country’s foreign development partners’ works in the Country. But only China, through her Diplomatic Mission in Liberia, has shown interest in my talent or “intellectual skill” (writing style)—through one of my ‘development’ articles published in 2016—and occasionally calls me (freelance journalist) to join a select team of journalists (from Government’s media agencies and private media entities) to write a story on a particular China’s work or a Chinese Enterprise in Liberia.
None of my Country’s other foreign development partners has shown interest in my talent or skills, probably because the Diplomatic Mission already has a ‘writer’. But there is a Writer from a writer, in terms of the former’s style style of writing that general spontaneous interest in readers and engenders positive impact in a short period. In this regard, the People’s Republic of China is “blessed” on having one of Liberia’s distinctive “pen-pushers” (prolific writers), in person of the author of this article, in the 21st Century.
Not all Hate me on producing an “image-smearing” story; leave me alone when I produced a “non-exaggerated” Public Relations piece that will provide my family’s needs and wants—which only my talent can get for me with a high school certificate for now.
About the Author
