At 24, Tribune reporter Rashad Rolle has made his first trip to Asia as part of a journalism exchange. It changed his perceptions of China.

FOR many of the 21 journalists in the Caribbean and Latin America who participated in a three-week seminar for journalists in China last month, expectations heading in were low.  

“You won’t have access to Google, Facebook or Twitter and the smog will make you sick,” we were warned. “The Chinese will try to brainwash you and feed you dogs, but at least you’ll be able to say you went to China,” opined others.

Even the Canadians sitting next to me onboard a flight from the Bahamas to Canada seemed to know of the disappointment that would supposedly befall us.

“Couldn’t you have gotten to go to a seminar in North America? Why China?” asked one man as his wife nodded in agreement.

The trip was organised by China’s Research and Training Institute. As participants, we spent most our time in the heart of Beijing, the northeastern outskirts of the city, and in Dalian City, commonly referred to as “the most beautiful city in China”.

We visited numerous news organisations and sat through five lectures on subjects detailing China’s economic history and its latest media technology.

We learned that technology used by their media companies is far more sophisticated than what is used here, as one might have expected.

And whereas traditional media forms in the Bahamas haven’t quite yet faced an existential challenge from new media forms, Chinese media companies are finding it hard to exist in the current global digital environment where new media forms are changing the terrain and the way the game is played.

But, of course, when one goes to Asia for the first time, musings about media technology takes a backseat to observing and reflecting on the people and their culture itself.

In this regard, despite all the advance warnings and quizzical expressions, China was better than any of the course attendees expected or could have wanted.

The smog was disheartening but manageable, the food was delicious and the hospitality of the people seemed unsurpassable. 

The experience encouraged us to challenge our assumptions about China, democracy and western media.

It humanised a people that often seemed opaque when observed from afar, reminding us that despite our differing politics, history and religious beliefs, people are people almost everywhere they exist, sharing the same desire to impress, the same aspirations and the same anxieties.

This is, we concluded, is the China our political leaders believe in as they embrace the country’s influence this century in ways that have raised the eyebrows of locals across the Caribbean and Latin America.

“(China is a) country where national goals and objectives are embraced by its citizens,” says Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe, noting that his appreciation for China came as a result of his visit there.

“China has a national commitment to being a global leader. In its conquest they have identified and perfected ways in which to establish supremacy and maintain leverage. Its human capital is a central focus. China’s quest to be a world leader is unattainable without a highly-educated citizenry.

“China’s emphasis on discipline is evident throughout. And of course its culture is celebrated by the people with honour and deep appreciation of its journey to greatness. China’s system works for more than one billion people.”

Indeed, where Bahamians have a weak sense of national identity, China’s sense of identity is strong - a consequence of the different history the countries have had, of course, but a notable and enviable difference nonetheless.

During the trip, Chinese instructors frequently said “the more the world gets to know us, the more people love us”.

Lecturer after lecturer criticised the western media for “brainwashing” people into having negative perceptions about the country.

Mr Wilchcombe seemed to agree. “Media, western media in particular, disseminates a message that ignores the culture of each country, causing skewed perceptions,” he said. “Human rights issues we all condemn. But no one can doubt the progressive steps taken by China to move its people forward.

“It’s economic success is such that many countries, including the United States, have turned to them for financial assistance. The media must remove itself from being a tool in fostering messages that weaken global and or domestic harmony.”

To remedy what the country sees as primarily a public relations problem, China plans to invest in media globally as a way to bring the “real China” to people as far away as Latin America and Caribbean. This, they hope, would combat the perception of the “fake China” supposedly imagined by the west.

Says St Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman: “I think a lot of countries can learn about China in terms of discipline.”

Indeed, at a time when China’s influence in this country is under scrutiny because of its involvement in the Baha Mar debacle, Mr Chipman said he believes Bahamians aren’t exploiting China as much as they should.

“Small businessmen, for example, can pool together resources to purchase Chinese items. It would take a little longer for those items to reach here but it’s cost effective compared to the US or Canada.

“We in this country used to laugh about the things the Chinese produce. When you saw ‘made in China,’ people used to say ‘that ain no good.’ Now, it’s a different story. We hear stories about Baha Mar and shoddy work but, truth is, there is a lot of fault to go around. The Chinese built the national stadium and I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

The impression I left with after visiting China is that Bahamians could use a more nuanced perception of the country, grounded in the realisation that democracy shouldn’t be an end in itself.

Still, it was important to remember that the China that we course participants saw was the China the country’s government wanted us to see. We didn’t see the overwhelming poverty or experience the attempts of the state to crack down on dissent. We read about them instead.

Nineteen miles outside Beijing, a massive chemical warehouse exploded in Tianjin, killing 173 people.

“China clamps down on media coverage of Tianjin explosion,” one headline blared.

As concerns about the country’s stock market rose, another headline declared: “197 punished for ‘spreading rumours’ about stock market, Tianjin blast”.

“While they have their good, there’s still a lot of bad about China,” says Mr Chipman, summing up my impression of the country.

“If you look at China as a whole you probably wouldn’t buy anything or do any business with China, but a lot of what we think about the country is based on speculation that hasn’t been verified. I believe we have to exploit the country, but we also have to take the time to learn more about it.”

What do you think? Email rrolle@tribunemedia.net