PnrsnnNT's CoruuN editor at The Wall Street Journal, ostensibly to bring "a touch of The Wall Street Journat' by encouraging more analytical reporting, as Mr. Keatley puts it. Mr. Fenby wondered whether the paper was laying the ground work for his departure. Those fears proved warranted. In Ma¡ Mr. Keatley was named to replace LETTERS TO THE BDITOR Mr. Fenby at An least for the- time INTERN,4l'IONÀL ln Hong l(ong, an Independent Btlitor Is ÉIaniled His Walking Papers Keatle¡ 64, inc York Tim€s Mr. said l '/n //¡,rs Krrs, oil r¡- doìn8 so. W€ hoF lo buìld on rhae ¿.pcil¡t.ilr E¿ilo¡ Is lloil¿el Hìs mrnyrrcngrhslyulkút, Pet.^, Arg.2). AtM¡ik Ro9RTKEATI-EY. Lrndlcr, the Times corcspondcnl, ltoneKong w¡s ¡nlormcd. lonrth,r Fenby\ kn rte wilt?t tr prilot ol nÊ stuilt ,,. Jir.iìi i¡. i",ì u,à í"i""¿. ". Ií¿tùrtR Poil ChilÃ nor hûs;n:nú besun. üue ro p6trt\i the paper was searching for a more long-term replacement. Letter to the editor An Editor's Response pressure from ilnyo¡e sbouLrnylhins Neirher hx. M. Feoby\ rulc ¡ rhc prper erdcdi h¿ *ill h¡rc ¡mporcnt I Several reporters said Mr. Kuok would like to put a Chinese journalist in the top job. Mr. Jonathan said race was not a factor though it would be an advantage if the new editor spoke Chinese. For his part, Mr. Keatley denied that Mr. Fenby had been pushed out because of political in resþonse to your article about the South China Morning Post, repriltted from lå¿ New York Times ("In Hong Kong, an Indeþendent am writing Editor Is Handed His Walking Paþers," Aug. 2). As Marh Landler, The Times correspondent, was informed, Jonathan Fenby's tenure as editor of thePost did not end, nor has mine begun, due to þolitical þressure frorn an)one about anything. Neithu has Mr Fenby's role at the paper ended; he uill haue imþortant writing and other assignments for the comþany considerations. And he pledged to maintain the Posúi editorial stance on legal issues and Hong Kong's auton- throughout the year Mr Fenby made many fine contributions to thePost in his years as editor, and he has not yetfinished, omy' doing so. We hoþe to build on these many strengths. "I do come out of The Wall StreetJournal," he said. "It stands for human rights and the rule of law" I Robert Keatlel The Chin:sse Pness is Re,a| Battlefl'eld Reþrinted with þermission from the Apple Daily In an article written for The Indeþendent ín London he hints that he had to go because +H#,fr|ñ¡HtqHN fl*trßi.riw+ (søorim¡,. + * I 1 *Ë!ã<1rLåFsË:EË !EÊi{c:dåä f 5ã+ar+54;i *-r- guishing betr'r,een legitimate criticism and commentary which it believes undermines the state. Editors come and go, the big issues remain. I lr should be aware of this. Indeed there is even some advantage to the administration in having a more critical voice in the papers accessible to the overseas community, as a way of proving that Hong Kong is a truly free Letters society. Mr. Fenby boasted to readers of The to Asian Wall Street Journal reprinl of Apple Indeþendent about how his paper had run a Daily arlicle Editor the front-page story on the tenth anniversary rally commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre. Letter to the Ed,itor lVould-be Competitor Very fev, iJ atry, oi you readeß will Maþe he did not see the coverage given to this event Would-be Competitor h¿ye seen my añjcle of a month ago in the IndeDendenl of London which was the subin the Apple Daily, nor indeed in most of the other ject oi a commetrtary piece you ran by Stephen Vines 0o Sept 1, "Who's Battling Chinese-language newspapers with the usual excepVery few if any, of your lor HoûgKong's Press FÌeedom?" could I conect the spray 0[ peEonalized distotions tion of the two dull Beijing-controlled dailies. He readers uill haue seen m) by tle iomer edjtor ol lthe deiuct Hong Kotrg newspaperl the Eastem Express? urticle of a month ago in proudly states that tlne South China Morning Post used I lvas asked by the Itrdependenl lo uite about my iour yeârs as edilor of the South the word massacre to describe the events ofJune 4th the Independent o/ Dost- not. Chin" 'qelal [,onr]on uhich uas the over 100 times in ayear. Ifjournalistic independence could be reduced to an subject of a commentary piece )ou ran fu Stepehn Vines on Sept. 1, "Who's Battling for Hong Kong's Press arithmetic formula, life would be far more simple than Freedom?" So could I correct the sþray of personalised it is. The fact of the matter is that the great changes taking place in Hong Kong occur in complex ways. distortions by the former editor of the defunct Hong Kong The job of the media is to make sense of these changes newsþaþe.r, The Eastern Express ? and provide commentary on them. The Post, under I was asked 4, thelndependent to urite about my four Mr. Fenby's editorship, has done an excellent job of )ears &s editor of the South China Morning Post, not about actions undermine the government's which the general þress scene in Hong Kong. Hence the absence of covering more a rather rule of law. It has performed any mention of the Chinese-language þress. the job the enormous in explaining I did not im,pþ that I "gone further than other editors in inadequate Kong's Hong in are undermining changes policy which þursuing an indeþendent editorial line." I did not reþ to mry highly it has been free-market economy and departure as being "þart of a shifi in the þolitical wind in traditional the changing in coming to terms with Hong Kong." These uords were clearly sourced to prounimpressive 'Singaporisation' a is leading to political scenery which democracy þoliticians and uere followed by a statement from life. of political theSCMP mangement. role under Posúwill a vigorous I did not 'boast" that thePost had run a front-þage story perform \Alhether the to however, diffìcult not known. It is, on the l)th anniuersary of the Tiananmen massaue. I simþly its new editor is excellevel of editorial has reached a comþared the Mainland þress and the couerage giuen by the argue that it course, if to maintain. Of be hard subject of my article, thePost. I did not "þroud\" state that lence which will as a martlr to be taken seriously really wants thePost had used the word "nùassacre" to describeJune 4 more Mr. Fenby to stop he have in Hong Kong, will 100 freedom than times in a groundless nature of allegations that I for press 'consultancy services' a salary for providing had banned M-word the accepting from the þaþer he implies, terminated who, the very people Pride, boasting, The former editor of Posô self-aggrandisement: to the independently he was too because f/¿¿ Post's short-liaed. uould-be comþetitor has a magical his services ability to conjure uþ things that there. I just wouldn't aren't minded. real struggle in Hong is a very there want readers yorn to be misled. Meanwhile Kong to maintain a free press in the face of newspaper owners with big-business interests in China and in the Jonathan Fenby So By Stephen Vines r:+rinTtxÞ face of a government which has a hard time distin- sector of the local media. Obviously newspapers written in English are more accessible to the international community, but the heartland of the Hong Kong media is and will remain in the Chinese medium. I being. propaganda machine. They fear that people will draw their own conclusions from its independent coverage. Having been an editor of an English-language newspaper in Hong Kong, I can sa¡ without being rude to Mr. Fenby, that we come from the minority THE CORRTSPONDENT SEPTEMBER 1999 THE CORRESPONDENT SEPTEMBER 1999 27