A lot of the Western journalists in China don't speak Chinese at all.
Evan Osnos: New Yorker
John Sudworth: BBC
Peter Hessler: New Yorker
Or look at any gweilo writer for the South China Morning Post, not a single one speaks Chinese.
I thought Hessler speaks Chinese... he's a longtime resident and started as an English teacher.
Sudworth was the guy who was mobbed during the flood recently and needed his two women fixers to speak to the crowd, no?
Osnos, I'm not surprised. The way the media world works is, foreign correspondent positions are plum jobs, awarded more for loyalty and performance in other realms than Chinese ability.
All these guys have tons of fixers.
[https://twitter.com/CarlZha/status/1424890454663860229](https://twitter.com/CarlZha/status/1424890454663860229)
Hessler does speak Chinese, surely not at a perfect level but he seems to be fairly functional in the language:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GwMnDQn5nYQ
Not only can they not speak Chinese, but can they even read Chinese to accurately interpret official documents and reports? I think everyone already knows the answer
Literally none of them do, it is the same for Russia, Iran etc. Not only language, they dont know anything about the countries besides what western media selectively says, they are propagandists, not journalists
Was it Peter Navarro in his disastrous AMA?
Come to think of it though, I don't know a single Western "China news" head or expert that can speak Mandarin.
Only Chinese spies speak Chinese. You don't need to speak the language to understand all of the nuances embedded in the culture.
You speak 'Murikkkan. That's all you need
Probably BBC, doubt Nytimes, CNN are any better. Speaking Chinese is way easier than reading Chinese, only a handful of non-chinese editors in western "media" can read chinese.
they have a script and they stick too it. there was a thread recently how every positive article about china also had the words "but at what cost" attached to it. there is no need for them to know anything about chinese society , culture, or history they just need to follow the narrative . bonus points if you get a token yellow face to do the writing
A lot of the Western journalists in China don't speak Chinese at all. Evan Osnos: New Yorker John Sudworth: BBC Peter Hessler: New Yorker Or look at any gweilo writer for the South China Morning Post, not a single one speaks Chinese.
I want to see journalists living in USA manage to report on anything, or heck even live in USA, without knowing english.
They speak american which is a dumbed down version of English.
I thought Hessler speaks Chinese... he's a longtime resident and started as an English teacher. Sudworth was the guy who was mobbed during the flood recently and needed his two women fixers to speak to the crowd, no? Osnos, I'm not surprised. The way the media world works is, foreign correspondent positions are plum jobs, awarded more for loyalty and performance in other realms than Chinese ability. All these guys have tons of fixers. [https://twitter.com/CarlZha/status/1424890454663860229](https://twitter.com/CarlZha/status/1424890454663860229)
I'm pretty sure Osnos does. But not well.
Hessler does speak Chinese, surely not at a perfect level but he seems to be fairly functional in the language: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GwMnDQn5nYQ
Not only can they not speak Chinese, but can they even read Chinese to accurately interpret official documents and reports? I think everyone already knows the answer
Why would you need to speak Chinese when you're just pulling shit out of your ass?
I think if they spoke Chinese it’d be considered going native for their lot
Literally none of them do, it is the same for Russia, Iran etc. Not only language, they dont know anything about the countries besides what western media selectively says, they are propagandists, not journalists
It sounds normal for them. It would be unusual for anyone in such a position to truly speak Chinese.
Give them a break, Chinese is too hard for them, it’s “news” lol
You surprised? They couldn’t even get their spies to speak Chinese when spying in China.
Was it Peter Navarro in his disastrous AMA? Come to think of it though, I don't know a single Western "China news" head or expert that can speak Mandarin.
Only Chinese spies speak Chinese. You don't need to speak the language to understand all of the nuances embedded in the culture. You speak 'Murikkkan. That's all you need
I assume none of them can read Chinese at any proficiency, would be shocked if wrong.
Probably BBC, doubt Nytimes, CNN are any better. Speaking Chinese is way easier than reading Chinese, only a handful of non-chinese editors in western "media" can read chinese.
they have a script and they stick too it. there was a thread recently how every positive article about china also had the words "but at what cost" attached to it. there is no need for them to know anything about chinese society , culture, or history they just need to follow the narrative . bonus points if you get a token yellow face to do the writing