Western Prejudice

Media disinformation: Understand South China Sea standoff through the Filipino media

China is now Australia’s largest trading partner. Western Australia’s Premier is right to point out that: “… of the 60,000 new jobs created in Australia over the past 12 months, 50,000 were in WA, which now accounted for 70 per cent of the nation's exports to China … To some extent, the strength of the WA economy is concealing the true weakness of the national economy.” Therefore, it is in Australia national interest that our policy makers are able to understand China in an objective manner. I hope that the following article will contribute to such an objective.

Bo Xilai, rumour journalism, Western prejudice and China’s Internet crackdown

- How rumour journalism works? 

Chinese police have arrested six people and shut 16 websites after rumours were spread that military vehicles were on the streets of Beijing. Without factual verification, such unsubstantiated internet rumour has gone viral internationally as a sign of instability and power struggling in Beijing following the arrest of Bo Xilai last month.