 |
I love my choice
|
|
|
|
Xiong Lei graduated from the Graduate School of China's Academy of Social Sciences. She was sent to the Northeast Military Unit and did many laborious jobs. Today, she is the vice-president and managing editor of China Features of the Xinhua News Agency. All of this is due to her hard work. China Features is mainly responsible for providing overseas press with reports on China that are written in English. Because her father is a famous senior diplomat of China, it might have been easier for Xiong Lei to become a diplomat. But she chose to become a journalist according to her own interests. And she has been doing well in this field. Her reports about women and children during the Fourth World Conference on Women became one of the focuses of the international community at that time.
Xiong Lei: There are regulations in our country. Women's representation in the People's Congress should be no less than 21 or 23%. In many areas, people consider that is the quota. Once they reach the percentage, they feel they have done enough. I don't think that is fair.
With a free heart, Xiong Lei races between incidents and reports. She has a free mind and a free schedule, forgetting all about time and age, even about love and marriage.
Xiong Lei:And also in our media coverage of issues related to women, sometimes we show disrespect for women's reputation and rights. A typical case is the coverage of a peasant girl who was cheated into prostitution and who refused to do that. In protest she jumped off the building and hurt herself. Many media coverage praised her as saving her infidelity, or just refused humiliation. But I think that that kind of coverage is quite misleading. Because this girl was protesting against the disrespect for her human rights rather than humiliation.
(Cafeteria)
Male: Last Saturday I saw an English program called Dialogue on CCTV. And they interviewed Yang Lan. Actually one of the questions is about, like, in a male-dominated society, do you think it's very difficult for a woman to achieve the same success as her male counterparts.
Xiong Lei: I think this kind of question is typical of either gender blind or gender discrimination. And such a question, if they are repeated again and again, I don't think it's good for the development of women.
Male: But you can not deny that in reality, in a way, women have more difficulty in achieving the same success. Like we know, in China, women are required to retire at the age of 55, five years earlier than their male counterparts. And actually women have much longer life expectancy than men, generally speaking.
Xiong Lei: That was the irony. I think originally they made this policy in the hope to protect women workers.
Xiong Lei: I like this kind of feeling. Being a journalist, you could be equal with street cleaners, and Ministers, even Prime Ministers or the heads of states. This occupation could provide you with a good opportunity to observe these people.
|
|
|
|
|
我喜欢我的选择
|
|
|
|
熊蕾八十年代初毕业于社科院研究生院，她曾在东北兵团插队落户。熊蕾今天能做到新华社特稿社副社长和高级编辑的位置，这里面包含了她许多心血。特稿社的主要任务是把中国的国情用英文采编的稿件提供给国外媒体。熊蕾的父亲是我国一位著名的资深外交官，这是她做外交官的优越条件，然而她却选择了自己喜欢的记者职业，并在这个职业中做得有声有色，特别是她在第四届世妇会期间对妇女儿童问题的报道，曾引起国际社会对她极大的关注。
熊蕾：我国有关法规规定，女性代表在全国人大的比例不得低于百分之二十一或二十三。但在很多地区，人们以为那是一种配额。一旦这个百分比达到了，他们就以为大功告成，这样很不公平。
熊蕾以自由的心境执着地穿梭在事件与稿件之间。她天马行空，自由自在，忘却了时间与年龄，甚至连自己的终身大事也顾不得考虑。
熊蕾：至于媒体关于妇女问题的报道，常常不顾及女性的名声与权利。一起农家女的报道就很典型，她上当受骗被逼卖淫但坚决不从，争执的时候从楼上跳下来，身受重伤。很多报道称赞她，说她为守贞洁，宁死不辱。我觉得这种报道很有误导性，这个女孩是在反抗无视她人权的行为，而不仅仅是反抗污辱。
（咖啡馆）
同事：上星期六我看了中央电视台的英文节目《对话》。他们采访了杨澜，有一个问题是，在一个男性主导的社会里，女性要想取得同样的成功，是不是会比同等条件的男性困难？
熊蕾：这种问题是典型的性别歧视观，这种问题重复多了，我觉得是对妇女发展不利的。
同事：但你不能否认在现实生活中，从某种意义上，女性要想取得同样的成功，会遇到更多的困难。比如说，我们都知道中国要求女性五十五岁退休，比男性早五年。其实一般说来，女性的寿命比男性长得多。
熊蕾：这个问题很有意思。最初他们制定这条政策的时候是想得保护女工的。
熊蕾：我喜欢这种感觉。作为一名记者，你可以平等地对待清洁工、部长，甚至首相或国家元首。从事这个职业，你会有一个很好的机会去观察众生百态。
|
|
