We were really excited to start UPIU’s Going Global program with student journalists from Beijing’s Peking University. The students of Professor Kun Li’s English News Writing course joined us in a video conference during their weekly class session.
Over the course of one week, nearly two dozen students submitted stories that were fresh, fun and informative. The stories revealed a China that many non-Chinese readers don’t hear enough about.
Some interesting stories that the students posted:
- Xixi Quan wrote about immigrant villages that are popping up around Beijing. Non-residents, including journalists, must get permits to visit the villages. Chinese government officials say they created the villages, which are surrounded by roadblocks and gates, to keep immigrants safe. Xixi plans to do more reporting for her story, and find ways around the red tape that makes it difficult to talk to village residents.
- Foreign exchange students in China don’t let the Great Firewall stop them from connecting with their friends on Facebook and other social media, Charis Liew wrote. Charis conducted her own web-based survey to report on the topic, and got responses from about 50 foreign exchange students. Charis’ story was a fun and interesting look at what happens when tech-savvy students live in a heavily censored country.
- Jie Yi snagged quotes from an economic adviser to the government when he spoke at Peking University. The Chinese government should lift the heavy hand it uses to control its currency, the adviser said.
Xixi, Charis, Jie and other students had a chance to discuss their stories during a wrap-up video chat our Senior Mentor, Krista Kapralos, conducted with the class last Wednesday.
A major discussion topic was the use of anonymous sources, which were included in most of the stories from Peking University. Krista explained that anonymous sources are rarely allowed in many U.S. publications, and Peking University students shared that it’s difficult to get people to talk on the record in China, where fear of the government is an everyday concern.
Krista and the students agreed that the old rules of American journalism don’t always work in other countries.
Look for more courageous stories from Peking University on UPIU.com!
