"Taking note of the use of some transnational agencies of their tremendous financial and political influence to exploit the technological revolution to grab information markets at the cost of member agencies of the Asia-Pacific region, often using unfair and unethical means. OANA resolves to combat the growing intrusion by these transnational agencies into the financial and other services in areas covered by the member agencies of OANA."
Specific gripes were heard from some members that large Western news agencies had approached them under the guise of cooperation, coaxed them into joint agreements and then dumped the local partner when the business became profitable. Welcome to capitalism!
Press Trust of India reportedly is miffed at Reuters because the latter organization has dominated financial news services and profits in what PTI regards as its "home territory."
Xinhua's heavy hand in OANA proceedings adds another dimension to the press freedom issue in Hong Kong. And who will dominate the news flow out of the Shanghai stock exchange to the future?
One of the facts of life that OANA members have learned as the prosperous "Asia-Pacific Century" approaches is that English is the preferred language of business and financial information in the region and that multinational businessmen are willing to pay handsomely to get accurate news in English.
For all the griping at the latest OANA conference, one Xinhua executive was heard to exclaim about the future. "We want to become the Reuters of Asia." (1)
Hong Kong's last British governor is suing a company controlled by publisher Rupert Murdoch after it canceled publication of a book criticizing China's Communist government, The Daily Telegraph reported on February 27, 1998.
The newspaper reported that the recent decision to cancel publication of Chris Patens "East and West" was in response to worries it would damage Murdoch's business interests in China.
Patten, Hong Kong's governor from 1992 to 1997, filed suit on February 26 in London's High Court against HarperCollins Publishers, according to the newspaper. It was unclear what damages he was seeking.
In a statement February 27 evening, Mudoch's News Corp. confirmed Murdoch was dissatisfied about the decision to publish the book as soon as he learned about it.
"Rupert Murdoch at no time tried to change Patten's book, and he did not ask anyone to change it," the statement said. "From the start, however, he expresses dissatisfaction about the decision to publish it. He made his view clear to HarperCollins when he first learned the book had been commissioned."
