Kathrin Hille continues the dissembling about Taiwan's UN bid

Hille of BS grows ever higher

In today's Financial Times, Kathrin Hille once again tells things like they aren't. While two of that article's three paragraphs are accurate, one unattributed phrase turns the whole thing into an opposition talking point:

The government of President Chen Shui-bian has this year been pursuing a campaign to join the UN under the name Taiwan in what is widely viewed as a political stunt aimed at building support ahead of presidential elections next March.

"[V]iewed" by whom? She doesn't say, but her use of the word "widely" implies that such "viewers" are all over the place. If you had hoped she'd name at least one of those "viewers," you would have been sorely disappointed.

One week and one day ago, Hille falsely painted DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) as "rival[s]" Once again, she's telling big, fat lies, and I wouldn't say so unless I could offer you proof.

Truth, be told
Here's the real story on how people view using the name Taiwan to join the UN:

* Poll shows support for UN bid

Nearly 88 percent of participants in a poll said Taiwan, as an independent and sovereign entity, does not need China's approval to join any international organization, while 71.3 percent supported the government's bid to join the UN under the name "Taiwan."

The poll, released yesterday, was commissioned by the Institute for National Policy Research and conducted by ERA Survey Research Center from June 15 to June 16. A total of 1,070 people were surveyed.

On the question of nation's planned UN bid, 14.1 percent did not support the campaign and 14.6 percent did not answer.

More than 77 percent of respondents did not consider Taiwan to be part of China and more than 80 percent of respondents disapproved of China's recent move at the World Organization of Animal Health to downgrade Taiwan to a non-sovereign member of the organization.

Comparing the poll with a survey recently conducted by Taiwan ThinkTank, Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) emphasized that most respondents in the two surveys supported the UN bid and that, regardless of their political affiliations, were upset by China's move against Taiwan and did not think Beijing's behavior was conducive to cross-strait development.

* Taiwanese groups in Europe support 'Taiwan' UN bid

The European Federation of Taiwanese Associations on Sunday expressed its support for Taiwan's bid to join the UN under the name "Taiwan"

In a statement at the conclusion of a three-day meeting of the federation held in Fiuggi, near Rome, the Taiwanese expatriates said that they supported the Democratic Progressive Party administration's efforts to seek UN entry.

Who is it that doesn't support this bid? Would they be Kathrin Hille's usual sources, and does she spend so much time with them that she's become a True Believer in whatever they preach, no matter how easily refuted?

Please contact the Financial Times, and let them know how you feel about their mendacious reporting.

---

Things dissembled and dissembling: Taiwan, 台灣, media, 媒體, Kathrin Hille, 席佳琳

Cross-posted at It's Not Democracy, It's A Conspiracy!

Kathrin Hille spills some of the beans

She works hard for the money

In contrast with former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Rebecca MacKinnon's claim that the anti-Taiwan memes in the international media are the result of "journalistic laziness," Financial Times correspondent Kathrin Hille actually trots out a more credible motivation for such behavior.

Here's what Wednesday's Taipei Times tells us about the prevalence of "China-centric reporting on Taiwan":

Speaking to the Taipei Times by phone yesterday, Taipei Foreign Correspondents' Club president Kathrin Hille said that although major Western news publications are no longer dispatching as many "staffers" to the country, "I don't think the total number of [foreign journalists] has declined. That always happens in news markets that matter less," she said of the thinning ranks of permanent correspondents from big-name media organizations. "Look, news is a market -- media serve to give their audiences what they think they're interested in and right now, everybody's interested in China," Hille said.

Pragmatic

"There's a need for people to read what you write and getting into a story from the China angle helps to ensure that," she added. "Taiwan's significance is declining."

"But, in a way, that's a good thing -- that means no disasters are coming out of this place," she said.

Read that again. She only seems to care that you read what she writes -- not whether it's factual. Could it be that "getting into a story from the China angle helps to ensure" that Hille keeps her job as the leader of the pack and that there will be "no disasters" regarding her current income? And would the writing of Hille and her ilk have anything to do with any of the potential truth behind her assertion that "right now, everybody's interested in China"? I certainly wonder even more about those things now than I did before reading that article.

Also, think again about Beijing Bureau Chief Rebecca MacKinnon's assertion that "journalistic laziness" was the reason for the ubiquitous pro-China memes. If you weren't skeptical of that dubious drivel already, Hille's statement ought to raise some red flags.

Who else runs with this pack?
Well, well, well. Look who Hille has at her heel:

VICE PRESIDENT:
Tim Culpan
Taipei Editor
Bloomberg

I guess that would make him the boss of the infamous James Peng, whose China-centric reporting has been documented previously on Taiwan Matters.

A brief Google search tells us more about the trustworthiness of the leaders of this pack of dogs:

Chief Editor's note

Monday, Mar 08, 2004, Page 8

I would like to hereby thank the local news media for all its recent attention on me. With respect to the discussions created by an internal memo sent by myself to my co-workers at the Taipei Times, I have neither new comments nor new input to add.

Throughout this incident, the only regrettable thing is the South China Morning Post's reporting of something that never happened.

The reporter, Tim Culpan, quoted an anonymous reporter as saying "I was told that if I write anything against the DPP or 'too Blue' that I would be fired," which is complete nonsense and very irresponsible and vicious reporting. No editor-in-chief can ever speak to his or her subordinates either openly or in private in this way.

The South China Morning Post's freelance reporter Tim Culpan previously worked as a copy editor at the Taipei Times.

I do not wish to speculate whether he was in fact being personally vindictive over any matter in particular.

However, it is a fact that the Taipei Times has indeed rejected news stories he submitted for publication after his departure.

Rick Chu

Chief Editor, Taipei Times

Here is a mirror of the SCMP article in question. See how Culpan has also been pushing the "China market" since at least 2002.

A lesson from the movies
China, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and writers like Hille remind me of a poignant line in the recent film 300. The gargantuan antagonist Xerxes says to the Spartan traitor Ephialtes, "Cruel Leonidas demanded that you stand. I require only that you kneel." Only someone with no self-worth would choose the latter.

---

Unpaid dividends: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, media, 媒體, Kathrin Hille, 席佳琳, Financial Times, 英國金融時報, Rebecca MacKinnon

Cross-posted at It's Not Democracy, It's A Conspiracy!

"Gallup Taiwan" isn't Gallup at all

First the background
On December 5, 2006, Feiren commented on a Kathrin Hille article in the Financial Times. In that post, he sought the truth by asking, "I have always heard that Gallup Taiwan is notoriously blue and in any event has had a very poor record of predicting elections. Anyone know more?"

In a comment replying to that question, I wrote:

The Gallup and Sutton bits look to be the kinds of things which the more they're said, the more they're supposed to become true. I truly hate that kind of "reporting" in the run-up to elections.

The FT has clearly made such "attempts to influence the future" before. If you look at the links beneath "Editor's Choice" at the upper right of that page, there's a link to an article from November 6 titled "Taiwanese pleas for president to quit may succeed"
(also with a Kathrin Hille byline) which contains this wishful pan-blue thought about the soon-to-fail third attempt to recall President Chen:
- - -
[T]his time it has a chance of succeeding.
- - -

Funny how that didn't even come close to happening.

Michael Turton then demonstrated similar powers of observation, saying "Feiren, I've also heard that Gallup is pro-Blue as well."

Truth to the fore: Johnny Neihu gives us the scoop
The Gallup Organization wasn't having any of that. They told the tale in yesterday's edition of Johnny Neihu's Mailbag:

Gallup vs Gallup Taiwan

Dear Johnny,

I just read your piece from last Saturday titled "You love farce? Send in the clowns." Toward the end you commented on Gallup and polling results from the recent election.

Gallup did not do this work. We are the only owner of the Gallup trademark in Taiwan and in 100 other countries around the world. We had a licensee in Taiwan who used the name up until 2002 when we revoked the rights. The poll that has used our name is a counterfeit. The individual [Dr. Timothy Ting Ting-yu, 丁庭宇] or his organization does not have any rights in the trademark Gallup and any unauthorized use is infringement of our registered rights. We respectfully request a correction.

Chris Stewart

Global Brand Manager

The Gallup Organization

Washington

Johnny replies: Interesting. And there was silly me blindly assuming that Gallup Taiwan was in all good faith a branch of The Gallup Organization. After looking at samples of the wisdom of Dr Tim, I notice that this pollster spends a lot of time barracking for political positions and telling Taiwanese what they should think about politics instead of measuring what Taiwanese think about politics. I've said before that sociologists are vulnerable to conflating cheerleading with science, but this former National Taiwan University faculty member takes the cake.

That's pretty funny coming on the heels of someone arriving at Taiwan Matters! via a Google search asking "why is all the foreigner blogger in asia dishonest" [sic]. The most dishonest ones in this area are the pro-China media, as recently demonstrated by both Taiwan Echo and myself. Open your eyes, and you will see.

More updates
I've added an overblown translation/explanation to Feiren's post of a YouTube video about the China Times this past Thursday. If you didn't quite understand the video, check out the update.

I also passed on a YouTube video to Wulingren of Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) graceful concession speech after his showing in the December 9 mayoral election in Taipei. Keep an eye open for an update to his post.

---

Piecharts: Taiwan, 台灣, elections, 選舉, Frank Hsieh, 謝長廷, media, 媒體, Kathrin Hille, 席佳琳, surveys, 民調, Timothy Ting, 丁庭宇, propaganda, 宣傳

Cross-posted at It's Not Democracy, It's A Conspiracy!