Practicing of Journalism Demonstrated by an AP reporter

Greg Risling is a reporter with the Associated Press. In the AP story authored by Greg Risling, he described the car the two slain Chinese students were riding was a 'brand new $60,000'. The '$60,000 BMW' reference has a heavy undertaking in both US and China.

In the US, in the middle of the deepest recession in any people's memory, wealthy kids riding $60,000 from foreign countries, especially China, the largest lender to the US economy and the often demonized communist regime, the victims can expect little sympathy. Perhaps worse, should have feared for their lives in the first place. For example, 27 year old Vincent Chin was beaten to death in 1982 in Detroit by a group of American. Chin, a Chinese, was killed on the street because he was mistaken as a Japanese. At the time, Japanese cars gained market share in the US. The killers walked free from both federal and state courts.

In China, in an era when wealth is the alias for power abuse and corruption, the wealthy class is hated by the general public alike. A victim from a wealthy family will receive no sympathy, but ridiculing and mocking.

The 'brand new $60,000 BMW' in AP's story was indeed a 2003 3 series purchased by the victim with 77,418 miles on it.

Many people familiar with the victims wrote to Greg Risling regarding the erroneous reporting. However, Greg refused to issue a correction. In an email exchange with a Chinese journalism student which is posted online, Greg wrote, AP wouldn't issue a correction until 'the story has fallen out of cycle'.

The AP story with the $60,000 BMW was picked up by numerous print media, radio and TV reports in the US, and in China. After many complaints by friends of the victims, the AP still refused to publish a correction. Even though Greg Risling was forced to admit the wrong reporting after a friend of the victim produced the registration of the case, the AP still refused to publish this information. Greg Risling threatened the Chinese journalism student at Columbia University not to inform the public his admission of mistake 'in any language'.

In a layman's eyes, this explicit manipulation of news to stir public interests is despicable. However, Anyone familiar with American journalism will not have trouble to find resemblance in WTVT-TV, v. Jane Akre.

That Flag of Terror

In the global economy downturn, people and politicians alike are looking for a top point to vent. Some found China an easy target. Face it, the Communism government has trouble writing all over its body, like a 30 years tattoo artist who has no inches of skins haven't been inked. However, Tibetan issue is not one of the crimes committed by the communism reign.

Despite historic ties and records, Tibet has been under the China central government for hundreds of years, and there's no pragmatic point to challenge this status guo, unless you are willing to fight the People's Liberation Army. Unlike 20 years ago, In this battle, the PLA will be fighting for a cause which ordinary Chinese and Tibetan people will swear by it, and stand by it.

The Associated Press quoted a western protester dressed in costumes in London saying, 'I can hold this flag here, but a Tibetan person couldn't hold their flag in their country.' The orange flag with a lion standing in front of snow mountains was banned in China territory. Anyone who display such a flag will get into trouble from Chinese police.

However, what the protester does not know is what the flag represents in Tibetan history. The flag is associated with the darkest time in Tibet. It is a reminder of hatred, killing, blood and torture. Under the slavery system, a landlord or a monk would make a leader decoration out of a slave alive on a good day. Westerner do not think why monks are most enthusiastic on the 'free' Tibetan, and most Tibetan people living in Tibet are against it. Nobody would be against 'freedom', ordinary Tibetan people are against violence, hatred, torture and bloodshed.

For Chinese people, including those Tibetan natives living in Tibet, The flag is not a symbol of 'freedom', but a symbol of terror. Banning a flag of terror is the right thing any government are mandate to do, regardless whether it's a communism government, or a western government. The flag quote shows the AP reporter 'Jennifer Peltz' either lack of fundamental knowledge of Tibet, or an evil taste of blood (of peaceful Tibetan people).