BEHIND THE HEADLINES

 

Yuen Pau Woo

Yuen Pau Woo was born in Malaysia and grew up in Singapore. He studied in Canada, the United States and Britain, and has lived in Canada since 1988. Having now lived in Western countries for nearly as long as he has lived in Southeast Asia, he considers himself to be a bicultural person and is very interested in the interactions between "Asian" and "Western" cultures.

"There is no one 'Asian' culture, just as there isn't one 'Western' culture, but there are differences between Asians and Westerners, and we have to put more effort into understanding these differences, in order to bring us closer together," he said.

He feels that the coverage of Asian news in the mainstream Canadian media is inadequate. There is too much emphasis on controversial issues such as human rights, child labour, freedom of the press, absence of democratic rights, etc. And even on these issues, the coverage is quite superficial.

"It's important to recognize that these are issues that Asians wrestle with and that their views can be complex," he said. "These views may not conform to the simplistic portrayals that are represented in the Canadian press."

Young Canadians have to learn to go beyond the headlines and seek opinions that represent what ordinary people in Asia are feeling and thinking.

They also have to understand that while Asians respect and in many ways emulate the West, they resent being preached to about their problems and are very sensitive to outside interference.

"It is easy for Westerners, who are more given to speaking their minds and challenging authority structures when they feel something is wrong, to misinterpret the lack of vocal or physical protest by Asians as a sign of apathy or a lack of understanding," he said.

One of the major differences between Asians and Westerners is in the way they deal with conflict. Asians tend to rely on consensus-based decision making with more emphasis placed on preserving and giving "face", whereas Westerners tend to be more outspoken, direct, and confrontational in dealing with conflict.

Yuen Pau feels that the Canadian media focus on Asian news has been very narrow and is generally limited to Canadian business interests (eg. trade missions) and international controversies such as the Tiananmen incident. Even important political events such as a change of government in an Asian country rarely get more than a few paragraphs' mention, let alone news and analysis of the background that led up to these political events.

"If an editor wants to be forward-looking, I think that he or she would be well advised to consider having more coverage of Asian affairs," he said. "Not just the reporting of news events, but commentary and analysis that go behind the scenes."

With the help of the Internet, Yuen Pau encourages young Canadians to watch, read, and listen to Asian-based media outlets. "I am always amazed at how much more coverage of international news can be found in English language Asian newspapers compared to Canadian press coverage of Asian news," he said.

The second option is to go to Asia and speak to ordinary Asians about these issues. They may not be willing to share their views openly at first. However, by building relationships with Asians and through careful observation of Asian society, young Canadians will be able to better appreciate the types of problems that Asians wrestle with and the ways in which they try to address these problems.

"Assuming that Asians simply do not care or do not understand is a very bad starting point for Canadians to come from," he said. "It will lead to misunderstandings on both sides and can create an environment where bigotry and chauvinism will thrive on both sides."

The key issue is to get a better understanding of Asian perspectives on news events and on longer-term trends in Asian society. Canadian journalists should also make an effort to meet and speak with Asians at the grassroots rather than simply listening to the views of the elites, he said.

"The challenge is to make sure that a complexity of Asian voices is heard, and not just the views of politicians and the leaders."

You can talk to Asian and Canadian youth who have come to Asia Connects by clicking on our Discussion Group.