Amid wave after wave of media hype, "Shanghai fever" is taking Taiwan by storm. Taiwan's media appears to be reporting only the good things about China -- in stark contrast to China's media, which only reports bad things about Taiwan.
Then examine the media coverage in Hong Kong about Shanghai's rapid development in terms of both infrastructure and social change. Most of what we see in Hong Kong is objective, balanced analysis and discussion on how Hong Kong can maintain its competitiveness and not fall behind Shanghai.
In contrast, Taiwan's media is brimming with a kind of subjective titillation, with emotional statements hinting that if you don't immigrate to Shanghai, you're falling behind the times.
We don't need to speculate on the motives behind such reports. However, one can't help feeling worried about the media's bias. It is true that when people are dissatisfied with the status quo, they tend to exaggerate the bad things about themselves, as well as the good things about others. But look at the objective figures. Taipei ranked No. 4 in Asiaweekmagazine's list of Asia's best cities for the year 2000. Where was Shanghai? Not first, or second, or third. It was a distant No. 15 -- down from No. 9 in 1999.
People singing the praises of Shanghai having "no air pollution, a lot of job opportunities, cheap commodity prices, and convenient transportation" should look at Asiaweek's latest figures. Pollution (dust in air): 168 micron per cubic meter in Shanghai, 52 in Taipei. Unemployment: 4.6 percent in Shanghai and 2.8 percent in Taipei. Ratio of housing price to income: 21 in Shanghai and 18 in Taipei. Average commuting time: 40 minutes in Shanghai and 24 in Taipei. Life expectancy: 71 in Shanghai and 79 in Taipei.
Another statistic is about the oft discussed competitiveness. Taiwan ranked No. 18 in the 2001 global competitiveness report by the Lausanne School of Management in Switzerland -- up from No. 20 last year. China, meanwhile, fell from No. 30 to No. 33.
Of course, objective statistics are one thing; subjective feelings are another. If one keeps "feeling" that life is not good here, and that people from other places appear blissful and their eyes appear to emit light, then no level of statistics is going to persuade one
otherwise.
However, experience tells me that this kind of subjective feeling comes from the people and information you are exposed to. If one simply stares at a TV screen transmitting scenes of conflict on this side of the Strait, and yet adopts a tourist's attitude and view things only superficially in passing while on the other side of the Strait (or even if one gets around to stare at the TV screen, one only sees sanitized scenes), then the natural conclusion will be that the grass is greener on the other side.
In the first few years of my student life in the US, I focused on my studies and ignored news reports. I spent my holidays visiting tourist spots and cultural heritage sites. As a result, I was in a happy mood and my face was smiling every day during that period.
Later, as I gradually entered American social circles, I found out about the other face of my serene campus. There had been a rape near a campus building. The dormitory I lived in had had several break-ins by armed people. Then I started watching the local TV news -- reports about convenience store heists, murderers on the loose, etc. I could not help feeling lucky that my previous "innocence" had not gotten me into trouble.
After graduation, I came to Hong Kong to work. In the beginning, I similarly focused on work and kept myself away from the media. Wherever I went on occasional holiday outings, I only got to feel the convenience and efficiency of Hong Kong. Later, I gradually learned Cantonese and Hong Kong-style Mandarin. Then, I turned on the TV or opened the newspaper and -- good gracious -- I could find all kinds of weird stories, quite on a par with what I had been familiar with in Taiwan (except that Hong Kong did not have the tireless bombardment of on-the-hour TV news and blood-thirsty satellite news gathering). Once again, I began to readjust my subjective feelings.
Created by the information you are exposed to, such subjective feelings depend partly on the angle you take, and partly on the angle taken by the mass media. Looking at the frequent reports about "the vice president making a big fuss and filing a lawsuit against the media; the boring disputes about the romanization of Chinese characters; and discord in the government agencies causing individual officials to come out one after another and hold press conferences," it is easy to "feel" that life is not happy here. If one sells one's TV set and exposes oneself only to the information of your choice, then you may have a refreshing feeling that the MRT has reduced the frequency of your being late for work; that a new, cozy Starbucks coffee shop has opened up around the corner; or that the latest issue of a magazine you subscribe to looks more beautiful than the previous ones.
Or perhaps you feel that the bombardment of the news channels been reduced; that the coverage of volunteer groups has increased; that there are more programs offering in-depth analyses of domestic and overseas tourist spots; and more programs about how to make your own furniture. In that case, it might be a pity to sell your TV set.
Shanghai fever? Immigrating to Shanghai? Perhaps we should first stop, look and listen -- and do our homework first. Perhaps we should wait until we have enough balanced, objective information.
Jason Yeh is an assistant professor in the department of finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Translated by Francis Huang
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