By Maggie Chen

Self-censorship was singled out as a particularly insidious form of censorship at a session on media freedom on Day Two of the International Media Conference. Read the rest of this entry »

By Maggie Chen

China is in the midst of a water crisis which needs more media coverage, said Christine Loh, chief executive officer of Hong Kong’s Civic Exchange, at an environmental update session on Day 1 of the International Media Conference.

“China already has a peak water problem” as demand for water in China far exceeds supply, Loh said – and climate change has been exacerbating problems. But in wealthy places such as Hong Kong, where if “you turn on the tap and water comes out, people simply do not appreciate that there is a crisis”.

China has been urbanising and industrialising very quickly, and to meet energy demands, the nation feels that it needs to “go for everything”, such as fossil fuel, nuclear and wind programmes, she added.

But “no water means no energy”, Loh said. She described the need for water in mining as an example.

“There are many different ways to look at the story”, Loh said, citing potential economic, development and political angles, and space for “good reporting and good investigative journalism”.

The second International Media Conference opened Monday morning at the University of Hong Kong with more than 300 journalists from the Asia Pacific and the US in attendance. Read the rest of this entry »