nwasianweekly.com
Feb. 24, 2007

Northwest Asian Weekly file photo

Chinese Consul General Ming-Zhen Zheng and his wife attended the paper’s 10th anniversary dinner. In this photo, they are flanked by Sam Wan (left) and Publisher Assunta Ng. (right)

Asia’s politics challenge local newspapers

By Assunta Ng
Northwest Asian Weekly

Editor’s note: This is part six in a continuing series by Assunta Ng, publisher of the Northwest Asian Weekly and Seattle Chinese Post. The newspapers are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year.

Are you pro-China or pro-Taiwan?
Today, Chinese community members are not afraid to reveal where they stand on China and Taiwan. But in the 1980s, it was a secret for many, especially if a person was associated with China. He could be branded a communist.

It was an unspoken question when I announced in December 1981 that I was starting a Chinese newspaper. No one was brave enough to raise it at meetings, although everyone was curious about my views. So I answered the question voluntarily.

At a gathering of the now-defunct Chinese Historical Society, I said, “I am neutral towards China and Taiwan.” As soon as those words spilled out of my mouth, I noticed sighs of relief on the faces of the audience members.

In 1979, the United States declared its one-China policy, and Taiwan was voted out of the United Nations. But many community members turned deaf to U.S. policy and instead rooted for Taiwan, which has had a consulate in Seattle since the 1940s.

Although China didn’t, and still doesn’t, have an office in Seattle, the connection between China and the community is deep. Countless community members had, or have, loved ones, including parents, children, siblings and other relatives, living in China. The power of family ties makes it impossible for these immigrants to see China as the enemy, even though some were the victims of purges and were forced to escape the communist regime in the 1950s and ’60s. Even those who opposed China in the past couldn’t help but notice China’s rise to power. They finally gave in, and many visited China to reunite with family and friends in the ’80s and ’90s.

I understood why the Seattle Chinese Post’s then-editor Szeto Hung advised me, “Politics is toxic.” The China-Taiwan conflict could tear the community apart.

Instead of choosing between Taiwan and China, I chose America. The Seattle Chinese Post is an American newspaper — only it is written in Chinese, I reasoned. An American newspaper should follow the policies of the federal government. Unlike pro-Taiwan Chinese newspapers, which in the 1980s referred to Taiwan as the Republic of China and China as the Communist bandits, we have addressed Taiwan as Taiwan and China as China since day one. Sure, there has been a lot of pressure for us to change how we refer to them in our papers all these years, but we never backed down from our position.

Our focus is American politics. We educate our community to pay attention to people like Gary Locke, who ran for the state House in 1982, and John Eng, the first Asian American legislator in state history, who served from 1972 to 1982. These historic moments appeared on our front pages with some of our best headlines.

America is our home, and we immigrants have to understand our immediate environment and how it affects us. That’s the difference between us and other Chinese newspapers. We report on China and Taiwan from a news standpoint.

I thought that would work. How naïve I was! I underestimated how personal this issue was to our readers. In many cases, they literally forced me to take sides. Years ago, when we had three or four stories about China in one issue, we were labeled communists. Think the same thing happened to The Seattle Times in 1990 when it ran seven stories about China in one Sunday edition?

When we didn’t use the term Republic of China, Taiwan’s official name, in the paper, we were considered an enemy also.

Now that China is perceived as a global power, the tide has turned, and most Chinese community organizations have shifted their support towards China. A few years ago, when we reported on local visits by the Taiwanese president and vice president, the pro-China camp perceived us as being pro-Taiwan independence.

We are Chinese, so shouldn’t we cover these visits? The mainstream papers also gave coverage, so why weren’t they picked on? These community members are afraid to say a single word to the bigger and white-owned mainstream papers. A smaller paper like ours is an easy target! Isn’t that a double standard in the Chinese community?

Here are some of the most irrational explanations I get from the old-timers:

“We don’t read the English papers (due to the language barrier), so they don’t count. You are Chinese, so you should be on our (China’s) side.”

Another said, “When you switch sides (to China), you will see a big rise in circulation, like the so-and-so paper.” Switch sides? Our position has been consistent all along. Whenever officials from China or Taiwan visit, they will be news in our paper.

When it comes to China and Taiwan, we take stands issue by issue, even though many don’t appreciate that approach. Just like the Republicans and Democrats I talked about in my last column, Taiwan and China have had remarkable achievements, but both have also made mistakes.

Only one editorial has caused some regret. It was on the issue of the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, 1989. I was watching live CNN coverage when the Chinese military struck the student protesters with tanks. At the time, many members of the Chinese community resented China for killing the students. I had never seen so many of them get so angry, and they demanded that the Seattle Chinese Post condemn China instantly, just like other Chinese newspapers all over the world did.

We waited weeks to criticize China’s action. Admittedly, our Tiananmen editorial wasn’t one of our most thoughtful pieces. In hindsight, we should have said that both the students and the Chinese government were at fault.

Professor Dingli Shen, a leading China expert who teaches at Fudan University in Shanghai, spoke recently at a Washington State China Relations Council meeting. He put things in perspective. He said neither the students nor the government were skillful negotiators at the time. It takes many negotiation meetings to resolve important issues, not just one, he said.

As for loyalty to my native land, I echo the sentiments of many Chinese immigrants: China is my father and America is my mother, and I love them both.

Editor’s note: Publisher Assunta Ng will be on vacation for the next few weeks. She will resume her column in April.

Assunta Ng can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.

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