Straits Times'
Unique experience
It had no problem convincing Beijing it wasn't involved in 'spy' reporting. By Seah Chiang Nee.
Jun 8, 2005

Singaporeans were shocked when they read that one of its journalists was arrested for trying to obtain a secret interview with a political dissident in China.

It just wasn't Straits Times' style, I thouht. In another country, Mr. Ching Cheong's work would have been regarded as a normal assignment, but to Beijing this was "spying", a very serious charge.

(Mr. Ching, its Chief China Correspondent, was arrested for allegedly trying to get hold of a secret biography of Mr Zhao Ziyang, a former premier and secretary-general of the Communist Party).

When the news broke, many Singaporeans - me included - reacted with disbelief. That he was trying to sell secrets to Taiwan was even more disbelieved.

The idea that any Straits Times journalist would go against authority - any authority - to interview an opposition figure or obtain forbidden documents was beyond apprehension.

Under the circumstances, the publisher, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), reacted well.

Singapore is not the USA, nor is the Straits Times the New York Times. It could do zilch to fight the issue against China.

In fact, its editors had kept the story secret for some time (allowing Washington Post to break it) to prevent the situation worsening for Ching.

It pledged all possible help to get its man freed, reinforced its faith in his professionalism and asked the Chinese government to provide details of wrongdoing.

But it also distanced itself from Ching's alleged work saying that it was not done at the behest of the newspaper.

The Group Chief Editor Cheong Yip Seng told BBC: "I have absolutely no idea that this had happened. As I said, this came as a complete surprise to us."

BBC: "You don't think this is connected in any way with the editorial line that maybe your newspaper takes on China?"

Cheong: "I do not believe that to be the case. In fact, our editorial line on China can give no cause for action of this kind."

As a result, the publisher was not pulled into the fray although the Hong Kong-born Ching is a Singaporean permanent resident.

Apparently, Beijing - for good reasons - had little problem believing it.

Whistle blowing on official wrongdoings in Singapore, like in China, is not a journalistic tradition. Singaporeans cannot remember any instance of a top leader being charged in court as the result of an exclusive newspaper report.

The Straits Times rarely does what newspapers in developed nations routinely do, i.e. to compete with one another by scooping news on government policies or about opposition politics.

Besides, Singapore, also has its own strict Official Secrets Act, which forbids possession or publication of 'sensitive' information.

Unlike China, however, the city state charges offenders in court rather than sweeping them into prison terms for 'espionage' without specific charges.

The Education Minister, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, was charged under the Act in 1994 when as a senior government economist, he leaked quarterly economic projections to a journalist and two outside economists.

It was hardly a world shaking crime, but the chief economist at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the central bank) was convicted and fined.

Also involved were Business Times editor Patrick Daniel and two economists for regional brokerage Crosby Securities, Manu Bhaskaran, and Raymond Foo Jong Chen.

The case served as a reminder to Singaporean civil servants and journalists that 'scoops' on the government or its policies could be painful.

Whistle-blowing on private sector, yes. But it is neither a tradition nor an objective when the media covers the state.

This has led to criticisms that reporting official news entails only rewriting press releases or attending press conferences. Several factors explain this.

Firstly, the media here is largely a monopoly with no real competition; secondly, the political environment discourages it.

The official attitude forbids the media (unlike the West) of playing any check-and-balance role concerning the government. Media competition, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, has often said is bad for political stability.

If there is government corruption or misbehaviour, the government will report and tackle it, not the press. The absence has not resulted in more state corruption.

Ching is now under house arrest in China. It will likely blow over without affecting SPH's presence in the country.
By Seah Chiang Nee