it s extremely complex. and in the past, it was possible for this media to engage in interviews in a potentially sensitive subjects. like at the time of the sars outburst, there were much more coverage of the disaster. there were much more criticism of the government. this time, it was actually after a short moment when online the chinese could comment on the covid i9. there has been a wave of propaganda and a wave of censorship that thatjust made them stop. steve vines, does that tally with your more recent experience? yes, i mean, it it s always fascinating to speak to reporters and other people who are based in beijing, and then you discover that the experience that they re having is very much the experience that you re having in hong kong. i mean, in the past,
correspondent for the observer, now back in the uk. sha hua is a correspondent for the wall streetjournal based in hong kong. cedric alviani is head of the east asia bureau for reporters without borders and isjoining us from taiwan. amy qin is china correspondent for the new york times, based in beijing, now works in taiwan, she is on the line from california. and meera selva, deputy director of the reuters institute at oxford university. welcome to all of you, thank you for being a part of the programme, especially those who are joining us at anti social hours wherever you are in the world. steve, i mentioned your story, it makes sense to start with you. working in hong kong since the 19805 through a pretty amazing passage of history. i mentioned the observer, but you have worked for other outlets as well. how widespread has your work been read and consumed? well, i hate to be somebody to create a surprise
now on bbc news, the media show. hello. this week we are asking how hard is it to report on the ground in china and tell the story of that country to the wider world? journalists covering the fatal floods, which included those terrifying scenes from the underground train as it filled up with water, found that their presence was not always welcome. other major titles, including the new york times, increasingly have to rely on stringers as their own reporters are working outside china s borders. and steve vines, the observer s man in hong kong since the 19805 said this week that it was no longer safe for him to be there and has decided to come back to the uk. so what is the situation forjournalists in china and for those trying to cover the country from afar? let me introduce you to my guests. i mentioned steve vines, he is one of them, former china
difficult that was. leaving behind friends and colleagues, being aware that friends are in jail, being aware that there are people who are infinitely more courageous than me, still trying to do what journalists are supposed to do under all sorts of threats which now exists. the whole thing is miserable. we must leave it there because time has beaten us. i should say, as i did earlier on, that we did put some of these points to the chinese embassy, but as yet, nothing from them. but thank you very much to all of my guests today to amy qin, sha hua, meera selva, cedric alviani, and steve vines. the media show will be back at the same time next week. so thank you very much for watching and goodbye.
the process of expelling journalists. i happen to be a permanent resident of hong kong, they haven t been expelling permanent residents yet, but i m confident that will start to happen. and the process of making, putting journalists under intense surveillance is very much under way. in other words, hong kong, which used to be the safe base from which you reported on affairs on the chinese mainland, is increasingly coming to resemble the mainland itself. journalism has always been a high risk occupation on the mainland, and it s tragic to see it becoming so in hong kong. we did put some of the points that that you raised there to the chinese embassy here. as yet, we haven t heard back from them. sha hua, you re based in hong kong for the wall street journal. do you recognise the atmosphere that steve has just described there?