Introduction: Recently, the world premiere took place in Beijing of the documentary “The New Stories of Zhejiang”, which was filmed by the China Review Studio of the China Report Press and produced by the State Council Information Office. Jiang Jianguo, vice-minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, Lord Michael Bates, former deputy speaker of Britain’s House of Lords, Wu Hailong, senior researcher of the Taihe Institute and president of the China Public Diplomacy Association, Du Zhanyuan, director of the China International Publishing Group, and Song Jingwu, Vice President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, attended the premiere and gave keynote speeches.
“The New Stories of Zhejiang” recorded the wonderful story of Lord Bates and Mrs. Li Xuelin, who spent a month walking from Hangzhou to Wenzhou. With abundant hiking images and interesting language, the documentary conveys a vivid, warm and authentic image of China in the new era. In the documentary, with his curiosity and reflection on such Chinese topics as poverty reduction, "the Belt and Road" Initiative and "Two Mountains” Theory, Lord and Lady Bates walked through Xiajiang Village, Yiwu departure station of China Railway Express, Panan ancient tea plantation and other places to experience the exploration and practice of General Secretary Xi during his working period in Zhejiang Province. As a British politician, Lord Bates also expressed a unique point of view, showing his personal feelings toward the development and pursuit of a better life by the Chinese people during the past seven decades. From October 13th onwards, the documentary will be aired on CNBC, the website of Wall Street Journal, China Central Television and a number of new media outlets.
With the current changes in international politics, it is extremely easy for misunderstanding and prejudice towards China to arouse a crisis of mistrust in western countries. Strengthening people-to-people exchanges and deepening mutual understanding is a matter of urgency. The Taihe Institute will continue telling the story of China and spreading its sound, deepening the international community’s understanding towards China, and will contribute to building an international environment of mutual trust, benefit, equality and cooperation.
The following is the transcribed version of Mr. Wu Hailong’s keynote speech.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I came to watch "The New Stories of Zhejiang" with great admiration for Lord and Lady Bates. A foreign politician braved the heat and humidity of southern China, hiking for 30 days, traveling 500 kilometers from Hangzhou to Wenzhou, for what? The words written on the T-shirts they wore as they walked best explained the purpose of their journey, which is "walk for friendship."
As long as people persist with determination, they will not flinch from difficulties, keep on going and never stop until the goal is reached. That's what Lord and Lady Bates are like.
"The New Stories of Zhejiang" records what they saw and heard on their way from Hangzhou to Wenzhou in a simple, natural and diary-like way.
There is no bragging or rhetoric, nor big names, or huge scenes, there are only ordinary people and honest words. It allows the audience to subconsciously follow the footsteps of Lord and Lady Bates, walking with them and sharing their feelings, which is what makes this documentary great. More importantly, the audience inadvertently saw the purpose of this story, Zhejiang's silk, tea, pearls, Taiji, Chinese herbal medicine and so on. The documentary shows the audience about Hengdian, China’s famous film studio, the construction of ecological civilization in Zhejiang Province, the small commodity market in Yiwu, the connection between China Railway Express and the "Belt and Road" and their close relationship with Europe and the world. It also allowed people to gain a close understanding of the four times General Secretary Xi visited Xiajiang Village, his exploration and practice for the development and construction of Zhejiang Province, and perceived the formation of his ideas on poverty alleviation as well as the concept of " lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" which he put forward during the eight times he visited Lishui.
The documentary allows us not only to observe point by point the distinction between the macroscopic and the subtle, the big and the small, the deep and the shallow, rich and colorful images from the plain. It also represents this documentary’s originality. “The New Stories of Zhejiang” is a good example of telling the story of China and providing new enlightenment.
With the increasing strength of China's comprehensive national power and the unprecedented improvement of its international status and influence, China's every word and move will attract the attention of the world. It is incumbent upon our generation to introduce a real, three-dimensional and comprehensive China to the world.
I. There are three issues which should be addressed in order to tell the story of China. First of all, knowing what to say, secondly, knowing how to speak, and third of all, knowing who to speak to.
“What to talk about” should be carefully designed. The development of China is changing with each passing day. We need to know what others want to hear, what they want to know, what they don't understand and are confused about, and even what they misunderstand.
Only targeted presentation can achieve effective results. For example, there are many supporters of China’s "Belt and Road" Initiative, but there are also many skeptics. Presenting the “Belt and Road” and making it clear to the world is the core of telling its story. "The New Stories of Zhejiang" clarified the internal connection with “the Belt and Road” by showing the Yiwu small commodity market and China Railway Express side by side. This is not only easy to understand, but also persuasive.
“Presentation” is a great question. We are sometimes used to telling stories about China to the world in our own discourse system, but this often causes others to hear them as though in a fog. Although we have repeatedly discussed telling stories about China in a language that is acceptable to the world, we may sometimes not know what this exactly means. This is the crux of the problem. “The New Stories of Zhejiang” presents ordinary things to the outside world through the ordinary conversations of Lord and Lady Bates with ordinary people, so that the outside world can hear and understand. This is neither rigid nor contrived, but trickles into the heart. This is the art of how to speak.
Aim for the audience. Telling the Chinese story must focus on the audience. Ignoring the audience, regardless of the occasion, and only sticking to the script will result in a poor effect, and even give rise to the phenomenon of playing the piano to the cow. In fact, it is not the cow's problem. The problem occurs because of the player, because he or she has not found the right audience. Over the past few years of my humanities exchange experience, I often see Chinese speakers holding a dozen pages of script, reading through the whole thing without any interaction, not even answering any questions and leaving right after they finish the speech. How can this assist knowledge and understanding? In foreign countries, there are basically three categories of people who are interested in China: those who are friendly to China, those who know little about it, or even misunderstand it, and those who are unfriendly or hostile to it. For the first type of people, no matter how we speak, they tend to listen and understand with generosity. For the third type, no matter what method or language style you adopt, it's unlikely to convince them or make them trust you. The key is the second type. This category accounts for a considerable proportion, and is also the key objective that our work focuses on. For this type of people, we should pay attention to the way and method, to the language context, and give guidance, be patient, and endure their temperament. Only in this way can we dispel doubts and improve understanding.
II. To tell the story of China, we should create conditions for others to see the situation on the ground and the actual scene. One picture is worth a thousand words. Two years ago, I accompanied a parliamentary delegation from a European country to visit Tibet. They went with a lot of questions about Tibet, and even with a wary mind. We arranged for them to visit the Potala Palace, the Jokhang Temple, the Barkhor Street, the Norbulingka, and Thangka Painting Institutes. We arranged them to have tea and chat with the locals, eat local Tibetan meals and had a meeting with the authorities. When they witnessed the orderly renovation of the Potala Palace, the incense-burning Jokhang Temple, the endless stream of worshippers, and the bustling streets of Barkhor Street, they truly felt the improvement of Tibet. They also saw that the culture of Tibet was well protected and being passed on instead of sabotaged, and they saw the freedom of religious belief there. I can’t say that the doubts in their mind were all relieved, but at least now they have a new understanding of Tibet that is different from what they originally imagined. When they left Tibet, they said that it had become their second home, and their hearts remained there.
I also served a delegation of Canadian parliamentarians during my time in the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs. Most of them had come to China for the first time. Most of their limited knowledge of China came from the Canadian media and was one-sided. We did not deliberately arrange their visit to China but asked them in advance where they wanted to go and what they wanted to see, and arranged their itinerary according to their preferences. After the first week of the visit, in their own words, they had completely upended their previous impression of China. They were astounded by its developments and achievements, and sincerely admired the openness, enthusiasm and self-confidence of the Chinese people.
III. It is necessary to find common ground for telling the story of China or conducting people-to-people exchange. I appreciate what Lord Michael Bates said at the end of the documentary. "I realize that ideology often leads to differences between people, but culture always connects people together, from heart to heart." Yes, as long as the ideological differences and barriers can be transcended, people in different countries can communicate on plenty of topics, and the distance between hearts can be shortened. China's decades of reform and opening-up, exchanges and cooperation with western countries, has long surmounted ideological barriers. However, some people still adhere to the ideology and values of a line of thinking which has to a certain extent hindered the depth of exchanges and cooperation between countries of different ideologies, and must be regretted.
IV. The core and basis of telling a good Chinese story is to do our own work well. Over the past 70 years, earth-shaking changes have taken place in China, creating a development miracle unprecedented in human history. The GDP of China ranks second in the world, nearly 1.4 billion people have largely got rid of material shortages and achieved a generally prosperous living standard, which provides the foundation and self-confidence for us to tell the story of China. China's contribution to world peace and development, the opportunity provided by China's initiative to jointly build "the Belt and Road", the new path for global governance provided by China's idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and so on are the highlights of the wonderful story of China. But we must be clear that a lot of people in foreign countries still have a limited understanding of China, and a lot of politicians in many countries have never visited China. I once did a survey of more than 700 members of the European Parliament while working at the Mission of the People's Republic of China to the European Union, and found that less than half of them had been to China. During my three years as President of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, I hosted hundreds of foreign delegations and thousands of people. Most of them had come to China for the first time, and their knowledge of the country was very limited. Therefore, there is a long way to go in telling the world about the story of China, spreading the voice of China, and strengthening personal exchange.
V. Telling the story of China requires a large number of people who know how to tell stories. These people must understand both China and foreign countries; they must understand both policies and specialties; they must understand both Chinese and foreign languages. Frankly speaking, we have far too little talent in this area. This is not commensurate with our status as a great country with a population of nearly 1.4 billion, nor with China's pursuit of reaching out to the world. At many forums and conferences held every year throughout the world, it is almost inevitable that China is discussed. The importance of the meeting cannot be fully realised without discussing China. But most of the time, Chinese speaker is absent. It is often a group of foreigners who discuss China's issues without Chinese participants. At the end of September this year, an influential international organization held a side meeting during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. More than 100 former politicians and international dignitaries attended the meeting. I was the only Chinese person invited to preside over a special discussion on issues about China. I promised to attend, but because of several related activities during the lead up to National Day that I couldn't get away from, the meeting became another special occasion for foreigners to discuss the Chinese issue without the participation of Chinese speakers. One might ask, why can't we send more people to these kinds of meetings? The problem is that we don’t have appropriate candidates that meet the conditions mentioned above and have a certain degree of international credibility as well.
Therefore, as a matter of urgency, we must as soon as possible train and bring up a group of talents who know how to advocate, disseminate and communicate, and who also have some influence in the world. This is a prerequisite for China to go into the world and for the world to know China.
VI. Communication and dissemination should not only tell others the story of China, but also listen to others’ story. Never take a "one-way street" or attempt a "dictatorial rule." One of the things I've come across lately touched me deeply. At the end of September, the China Public Diplomacy Association and the All-China Journalists Association jointly held the “China in My Eyes: 70 years of Impressions and Reflections” Media Forum of Developing Countries in Beijing. Journalists from more than 70 developing countries attended the forum. Journalists at the meeting praised the great achievements made by China in the past 70 years and spoke highly of them. But some journalists from other developing countries said in their speeches that, "You can't just let us tell your stories. Our country has a lot of good stories as well. We can learn from each other!" I was surprised at the time, and though I thought the question was a little too straightforward, I also felt that it contained a certain truth that should be accepted. Therefore, in my final concluding remarks of the meeting, I emphasized that we should conduct similar activities in the future, and we should communicate with each other along a two-way street, not only telling stories about China, but also listening to each other's stories.
VII. Enrich means of communication and dissemination. The development of science and technology has provided abundant means for us to communicate and disseminate. We should adapt to the profound changes in media patterns, comprehensively use all kinds of external communication channels and products, innovate ways and means of communication, and improve the communicative effect. Among these, telling stories about China through foreign media would be more attractive, and easier for the world to accept and recognize, yielding twice the result with half the effort. “The New Stories of Zhejiang” is a good format for telling stories about China to the world.
Distinguished guests, China is still in the process of development and progress. China has witnessed rapid changes, with new phenomena, new problems and new challenges emerging one after another. We must follow rapid regeneration. “If you can renew yourself in a day, do so daily and let there be daily renovation.” We should constantly tell the story of a vibrant, vivid and authentic China to the world, so that the world can know China better, understand China better and get closer to China.
Finally, I wish "The New Stories of Zhejiang" a successful global release and pay tribute to the documentary's protagonists, Lord Michael Bates, and Mrs. Li Xuelin. Also, thanks to director Fiona McGrady and the film crew for their exquisite production and dedication to the film!
Thank you!
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