Journalist says life is in danger

Chinese investigative journalists must contend with a much harsher environment than their western colleagues, journalist and professor Wang Keqin said during a lecture in Frist Campus Center yesterday afternoon.

Reporters in China fight "tigers," Wang said, referring to difficulties coming from both the government and private interests, while western reporters face mere "wolves."

Speaking through an interpreter, Wang — who holds the record for having the highest bounty ever placed on the head of a single person by the Chinese mob — described the difficulties of working as an investigative journalist in China.

Wang experienced those dangers firsthand in 2002, when he investigated the securities market in the province of Lanzhou. After the government closed 400 illegal companies in response to Wang's reporting, a businessman affiliated with the mob offered the equivalent of 600,000 dollars for Wang's head.

Wang has reported on a wide variety of scandals, but the Chinese government forbids him from reporting on military and religious issues. He called 21st-century China an investigative journalist's "heaven," as the legal system has become increasingly entangled with private monetary interests, providing many opportunities for uncovering corruption.

He cited a recent incident he investigated in which village elders in a rural area of the country sold land to developers. According to the contract, the village was supposed to receive 40 million yuan, but the villagers collected only 5 million.

Wang said he finds his stories through a variety of sources, including the internet. He described one story about a peasant protest that he was inspired to cover after reading about it on a blog. Many of the several hundred protesters, who objected to land developers squatting on their property, were injured and killed during the demonstration.

Wang himself barely escaped with his notes and laptop, he said, adding that he had to dress as a peasant and hitch a ride from other peasants to escape the area. Police were preventing journalists from leaving with any notes recording the incident.

When asked if he believes China is becoming friendlier toward free speech, Wang said that he believes it is. But, he added, "If you want a comfortable life, don't become an investigative journalist."

Despite facing such dangers, Wang said, investigative journalists in China are regarded as lower middle class, while business journalists tend to earn higher salaries. He cited a study that suggested the three most dangerous professions in China are mine working, policing and investigative journalism.

Wang said Chinese journalism has evolved and matured in recent years. "Twenty-five years ago, Chinese journalism was considered government propaganda," he said.

"Especially [during] the Cultural Revolution, a lot of newspapers did not report the truth," he added. "[Over] the last 10 to 15 years, the government has become more transparent."

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Wang, whose trip to the United States was sponsored by the U.S. State Department, has been touring the United States over the past few weeks, visiting American news sources and meeting American colleagues. This is his first visit to the United States.