By Xie Dongfeng
BRUSSELS, Oct. 21 (Chinese media) -- "I regret that reports on China by some mainstream Western media remain old-fashioned, unbalanced with prejudice and Cold War thinking," Ng Sauw Tjhoi, a Belgian journal
"I hope that my books on China and our website will be able to change such prejudice and ignorance against the country," he said.
Ng, 51, recalled the "unfriendly" coverage by some Western media, such as BBC and CNN, on the once troubled torch relay of the Beijing Olympics in Europe in this spring. The unbalanced reports led to outrage among the public in China.
Although 30 years have already passed since China started its opening-up and reforms in 1978, some Western politicians and mainstream media still could not take an objective stance toward the country's huge achievements in development, said Ng, a journalist, producer and editor for Radio 1 of Belgium's VRT station.
Ng, who is an ethnic Chinese in Belgium but does not speak Chinese, has published two books about China over the past two years, and is running a non-profit website (www.infochina.be) with four friends.
The website carries many news stories and articles about China, which Ng said are chosen in accordance with balanced and objective journalistic principles.
"Our goal is to balance the reports about China in the West, and provide the readers with a positive source of information on China," he said.
The website, both in Dutch and French, has more than 10 categories of contents, including economy, environment, international relations and China's Tibet.
It is of a small scale, but it is quite unique for someone outside China to run such a website, media researchers said.
Though Ng has the Chinese origin, his first visit to China took place in 1979 when he was already 22 years old. During that trip, he accompanied his father in a bid to find the birthplace of his grandfather in Guangdong, southern China. But their efforts failed.
Ng's grandfather went to Indonesia in the 1880s to engage in tin business. Ng was born in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, in1957. He moved to Brussels in 1958 with his family, which started a Chinese restaurant as it first business there.
Ng said after China's 10-year Cultural Revolution ended in 1976and especially after the country adopted the opening-up policy, his family started to dream of visiting the small village where Ng's grandfather hailed from.
Ng paid a second visit to China together with his younger brother. During the visit, they found the birthplace of their grandfather -- Sanhe village, Meixian county (now called Meizhou city) of Guangdong province, with the help of officials from Shenzhen, one of the first economic special zones in China.
Since then, Ng has visited China frequently. Particularly, since 2004, he has visited the country three or four times a year.
"From 1979 to 2008, China has undergone such rapid developments. I love the country and its people," said Ng.
Ng said his direct contacts with Chinese from all walks of life helped him understand the oriental country better and better, prompting him to write books to present a "real China" to the Dutch-speaking communities in Belgium and the Netherlands.
In 2006, his first book titled "Made in China," in cooperation with Marc Vandepitte, was published. The book carries some 40 interviews with Chinese including former Chinese ambassador to Belgium Zhang Qiyue and one of China's so-called sixth-generation directors Jia Zhangke, and five interviews with Europeans.
Ng said he and co-author Vandepitte are against the outdated image of China of the Cultural Revolution. The book, whose 3,000 copies had been sold out, presents readers with a new China making significant progress in all aspects.
His second book "China Express" was published last August. It records his trips along the ancient Silk Road, and includes interviews with local Chinese including trade union officials and Uygurs in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
"In Xinjiang, I had discussions with Uygurs. They enjoy religious freedom and are satisfied with their life. The vast majority of them are against separatist moves," said Ng.
"For such a huge country like China, stability is always the top priority," he said.
In his view, China has made a significant contribution to world peace and development by providing its 1.3 billion people with adequate food and clothing over the past 30 years.
"It is a miracle that China can lift several hundred million people out of poverty in a relatively short period," said Ng, who criticized some Western politicians and media for neglecting such important facts.
Apart from its economic achievements, China has also made great strides in political reforms, he said.
"The politics in China is getting more and more transparent, the society is more democratized, and the government's anti-corruption and good-governance efforts have been warmly welcomed," he added.
Ng stressed that "China's economic success is due to the right political strategy made by the Chinese government and the Communist Party."
He said it is amazing China's financial market has largely kept stable and its economic development maintained a strong momentum during the escalating global financial storm hitting Europe and America.
However, Ng said China's rapid development has also led to many thorny issues, such as the widening gap between the rich and the poor, between farmers and city dwellers, and the worsening environmental pollution.
Ng said that to his delight, the Chinese government has acted to resolve the issues by making polices of building a harmonious society, constructing a new socialist countryside, and so on.
"I support these policies," he said.
In conclusion, Ng said, "During my contacts with the Chinese people, I have been quite impressed with their sense of responsibility for the nation. I think such a nation has a bright future."
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