Source: CCTV.com

11-22-2006 09:19

As a province close to Southeast Asia, Guangxi has become a natural meeting place for Chinese and Southeast Asian leaders. Sharing a long border with Vietnam, Guangxi’s economic development is also closely connected with many Southeast Asian countries. On October 27th, our reporting team went to its capital city, Nanning, to cover the Commemorative Summit of the 15th Anniversary of China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations.

The late autumn of Beijing was already quite cold, but the average temperature in Nanning was still 30 degrees Celsius. When the plane finally touched down in Nanning, I was delighted to feel the warmth of this southern land.

Palm trees, sunshine and the unique culture of minorities, in the eyes of a northerner, Nanning is surely a beautiful city. Local taxi drivers said late autumn was the best season of Nanning, without too much heat and rain. I felt so lucky! But with the reporting assignment lying ahead, I could only catch a glimpse of its beauty on my way rushing between conference venues and interviews.

My first mission in Nanning was to do a feature story about a Southeast Asian businessperson. I went to the exhibition hall of the China-ASEAN exposition one day ahead of its opening. When I first entered the building, I was amazed by the variety of goods from both China and ASEAN countries. In the Southeast Asian Commodities Hall, I found my first interviewee—a Thai businesswoman called Samsomi. She’s been doing business with the Chinese business community for nearly ten years. Although she was busy getting her own booth ready for the expo, she still spent ten minutes telling me the development of trade between China and Thailand over the past decade. With her cooperation, I accomplished my first mission!

My second mission was to do live coverage of the 3rd China-ASEAN Business & Investment Summit. Live coverage means a reporter talks with the studio anchor through a satellite link. It was the most challenging part of my reporting in Nanning. It required quick answers about the situation of the ongoing event. Standing inside the conference hall, I did it five minutes before the summit started! At that time, representatives from different countries began entering the hall, and I had to concentrate on my reporting without being distracted by them. The live coverage lasted for about five minutes and it was the longest five minutes I’ve ever experienced.

Afterwards, we rushed to the hotel where the Thai delegation was staying. Our colleague in Beijing arranged an exclusive interview with the new Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont through Thai embassy. As we all know, a recent military coup toppled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. In my mind, the new Thai Prime Minister should be a tough figure due to his military background. But to my great surprise, he is gentle and soft-spoken. When I interviewed him, he was quite open in answering all of my questions, concerning issues on Thai foreign policy and domestic politics.

During my time in Nanning, I stayed up late with other colleague to finish editing our reports. And sometimes we had no time for a proper meal. When my last report was sent back to Beijing on November 2nd, I was finally released from the work pressure. And at that very moment, I realized the whole reporting process is such a great learning opportunity for a reporter.

Sometimes I think about what it takes to be a good reporter. The answer may include a lot of things, but practical experience of reporting like the China-ASEAN coverage is surely an important part for the maturity of a reporter. For me it is just a beginning.

Written by Bao Ying

 

Editor:Lu Yuying