News

‘Asian media appear to be weathering storms better than expected’:

Published

5 years ago

2020/12/25

Experts discuss Covid’s impact on media

The session was co-organized by China Daily, University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai International Studies University and Asia News Network.

SNS: Amid the spread of coronavirus pandemic, which has affected the businesses across the globe, a panel discussion session themed “COVID-19 and Impacts on the Media” was held virtually.

The session was co-organized by China Daily, University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai International Studies University and Asia News Network on Wednesday.

The panellists discussed how reporting strategies and operations of the media have changed amid the COVID19 pandemic.

Mr. Zhou Shuchun, Standing Committee member of the CPPCC National Committee and Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of China Daily, delivered the welcoming remarks.

“Chinese media colleagues have braved hardship and danger to record heart-warming battles to tell the story of China’s fight against the pandemic, which boosted the morale of frontline warriors,” he said.

Later, Dr. John Gong, Professor of Economics, University of International Business and Economics; and Dr. Debao Xiang, Professor of School of Journalism and Communication, Shanghai International Studies University; shared their insights on the topic.

John Gong pointed out that the model of the media is changing. “Now people are more and more receiving messages through relays of information. What this difference makes is that, in order for the message to be relayed, there is a tendency for the message to go extreme. You’re moving into a world where you have those short snackable video clips kinds of product that people tend to use or like to watch. There’s no difference between fact and opinion-editorial,” he said.

“It is now even more difficult for readers to get information that is objective, fact-based. Traditional media need to tighten their seatbelt and stick to what they are doing. If you have to sacrifice your journalistic standard for traffic volume, this is deplorable. The government needs to take actions. I think we have quite a strong government here in China that looks after this disinformation and misinformation,” he added.

Debao Xiang pointed out that the pandemic’s impact on the industry is both negative and positive. “There is a decrease in the average media budget due to the coronavirus. Around 35,000 journalists in the US have been laid off and faced pay cuts amid the pandemic. This is not only influenced by COVID-19 but also the impact of the new technologies. But audience trust for journalists has increased …this is a good phenomenon for the journalism industry,” he said.

Insight Spotlight was followed by a panel discussion which was moderated by Mr. Pana Janviroj, Executive Director, Asia News Network; and Dr. DJ Clark, Multimedia Director, China Daily Asia Pacific.

Prominent leaders from media companies and experts joined the panel discussion. They were: Mr. Zhiming Chen, Deputy Director of International News Department, China Daily; Mr. Choo Joon Kian, Deputy Editor in Chief, Sin Chew Daily; Mr. Philip Golingai, News Editor, The Star; Mr. Ziaul Hoque, News Editor, The Daily Star; Ms. Vivian Hsiao, Reporter, China Post; Mr. Min Thaw Htut, Executive Director, Eleven Media Group; Mr. Nitish Kapoor, ANN Editorial Coordinator, The Statesman; Ms. Juliet Labog-Javellana, Associate Publisher, Philippine Daily Inquirer; and Mr. Ly Tayseng, CEO, Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia. They examined the implications of COVID-19 on the media industry. They discussed the future development of the media industry.

Pana Janviroj pointed out that many Asian media appear to be weathering the storms better than expected. But more importantly there is a consensus from bottom to top of the newsrooms, despite the dwindling resources and advertising revenue plunges, the relentless determination to do their jobs.

“Those are to bring accurate reportings to readers and keep them well informed. The reporters are determined to do their jobs because readers and public at large appreciate their works. The Covid-19 era has endowed long awaited public appreciation of mainstream national media and journalism,” he said.

Zhiming Chen highlighted that technology has played a key role to contain the 2020 virus. “As a news organization with global reach, China Daily is fortunate to have offices and reporters worldwide. This means, during critical moments in COVID-19 coverage, we have nose, eyes, ears on spot. This kind of local presence was invaluable for us,” he said.

Choo Joon Kian said Sin Chew Daily has not laid off or had pay cuts for anyone. The company has officially launched a membership scheme. He said that the number of members has increased to 240,000 and their e-papers have increased by 5 percent. The company plans to set up a paywall on Apple next year.

Philip Golingai said, “For me, with the retrenchment in most of the media organizations in Malaysia and also downsizing and some closures, having at least three to five news organizations is very promising for us. Roughly, that’s the situation for us.”

Ziaul Hoque said the COVID-19’s impact has been unsettling. “Our revenue went down twothirds. There have been job cuts but they are not related to the pandemic. For workload, we have to adapt to these situations because it is the demand of the time. I think it’s a positive thing, in a sense that what we had to do, it expedited the process (to digitalization). We had to remodel business models,” he said.

Vivian Hsiao said she saw a bump in the number of readers in the beginning. “When covering the COVID-19 pandemic, our readers really needed to know what’s going on. I think the responsibility of the media increased greatly this year, but we have to be careful in covering the pandemic and provide accurate information because we wanted to give our readers the current information. But we also wanted to avoid creating unnecessary panic among them as well,” she said.

Min Thaw Htut said revenues from print advertising have declined. But that decline has been covered by digital investments. “Even though our core content is news, we have also diversified our content. The main lesson I have learnt is that we have to remain trustworthy, reliable and independent to do our main core functions. The other thing that we have to be mindful about is that the attention for eyeballs is very competitive. How do we survive this? It’s by creating good quality news,” he said.

Nitish Kapoor said revenue was going down at the start of the pandemic. “But with an increase in internet users, we have gained revenue. Eventually, we’ll get long-term benefits for sure. It will surely come back to us,” he said.

Juliet Labog-Javellana pointed out that one of the positive impacts of COVID-19 for the media is it provided the impetus to accelerate digital transformation and innovation. “So what the Inquirer did was to move quickly to different platforms like we hosted more than a dozen webinars; print journalists went into podcast….we published newsletters. Because most of our staff are working from home so maybe the big challenge during this pandemic is that media’s access to government officials has been limited because there are no face-to-face press conferences. Officials can mute you online. There’s no opportunity to grill officials. The Inquirer had to leverage our credibility to counter the ‘disinfodemic’ about COVID-19 which posed a danger to people’s lives,” she said.

Ly Tayseng said, “This year, we didn’t have to retrench staff. This year, our advertising for printed media was reduced by 30 percent, but our subscription number has remained the same. Our digital revenue is increasing, but it is not significant. If the advertising revenue keeps dropping, I think there may be an impact for next year.”

Founded in 1981, China Daily covers 33 million readers and users worldwide through diversified platforms, including newspapers, websites, and mobiles and social media.

The number of China Daily’s followers has now reached 55 million on Weibo, 9.5 million on the WeChat Blog platform, 99 million on Facebook and another 4.39 million on Twitter.

The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia, providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to Asia’s economic, business and social development.

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Business

Trade, Investment and Tourism Cooperation Forum strengthens economic ties between Sri Lanka and Vietnam

Published

12 hours ago

2026/05/9

Priyan

Marking a significant milestone in strengthening bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Vietnam, the Sri Lanka– Vietnam Trade, Investment and Tourism Cooperation Forum was successfully held on Friday (08) at the Hilton Colombo.

The Forum, jointly organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, was held in parallel with the State Visit of President Tô Lâm of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The event was attended by President Tô Lâm and Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.

The Forum underscored the importance of the longstanding bilateral relationship between the two countries and reflected the shared commitment to expanding economic cooperation.

The primary objective of the Forum was to further strengthen bilateral economic ties by focusing on key priorities including the expansion of trade, promotion of investment and enhancement of tourism cooperation. The event also provided an opportunity to explore new avenues of collaboration, strengthen business-to-business engagement and facilitate greater market access by bringing together senior government officials, entrepreneurs and industry leaders from both countries on a common platform.

During the Forum, direct air connectivity between Colombo and Ho Chi Minh City was officially launched. The new services, operated by Vietnam Airlines and VietJet Air, are expected to further strengthen relations between the two nations and their people.

Six Memoranda of Understanding covering key areas of cooperation were also signed during the Forum. In addition, a notable development was the establishment of the Sri Lanka–Vietnam Business Council under the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Alongside the Forum, the Sri Lanka Export Development Board organised a business networking session, providing Sri Lankan and Vietnamese entrepreneurs with the opportunity to engage directly with one another. The event received strong participation from the private sectors of both countries, with businesses expressing keen interest in expanding trade and establishing resilient supply chains.

Representing Sri Lanka at the event were Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Sunil Handunnetti, Minister of Environment , Dr. Dhammika Patabendi, Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development ,Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation, Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku, Deputy Minister of Tourism Ruwan Ranasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Thilaka Jayasundara, Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development, K.A.Vimalenthirarajah, Chairman of the Export Development Board Mangala Wijesinghe along with several other dignitaries and officials.

Representing Vietnam were Politburo Member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Organisation Commission , Nguyen Duy Ngoc, Politburo Member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Commission for Policies and Strategies , Nguyen Thanh Nghi, Politburo Member, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, Phan Van Giang, Politburo Member and Minister of Public Security, Luong Tam Quang and Politburo Member and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Le Hoai Trung, among others.

(PMD)

News

Accelerate projects related to resolving the public’s drinking water issues – President Instructs Officials

Published

12 hours ago

2026/05/9

Priyan

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials to promptly identify and commence the projects required to resolve the drinking water issues that have become a major concern for the public.

The President also instructed officials to formulate plans with close attention to the current needs of the people, pointing out that the inability to ensure an adequate supply of drinking water has given rise to numerous problems affecting the public.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake made these remarks during a discussion held on Friday (08) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat with relevant officials to review the current status of national drinking water, community water supply and wastewater management projects, the progress and requirements of budget allocations, as well as future plans.

The President further instructed officials to submit a report indicating the projects that could be identified and commenced immediately, the required allocations and the expected completion dates. He stressed that financial constraints should not be treated as an obstacle and directed officials to prepare project plans and submit the necessary funding requests accordingly.

He also instructed that, rather than depending on foreign loans, greater attention should be given to completing projects as far as possible using domestic funds. In addition, he directed that staff required for project planning be recruited on contract basis.

The President also emphasised the importance of utilising capital expenditure allocations within the same year for the relevant projects. He pointed out that failure to do so would result in adverse consequences such as additional project costs, the loss of benefits from the funds already spent and the need to allocate capital provisions again in the following year for the same projects.

During the discussion, the President separately reviewed the projects being implemented and planned to resolve drinking water issues faced by people in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Monaragala, Kandy, Gampola, Anuradhapura, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Ampara, Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa, along with the progress achieved and the issues that had arisen in implementing them.

Officials also informed the President that deteriorating main water pipelines had resulted in insufficient water capacity being supplied to residents in the Colombo District. They further presented plans to address these issues, while the President highlighted the need for close coordination and systematic planning between the Road Development Authority and the National Water Supply and Drainage Board in carrying out these activities.

The President also instructed officials to take steps to commence the Weli Oya Reservoir Project next year in order to support flood control and meet drinking water requirements in the Colombo District.

Attention was also drawn to the North Central Main Canal and North Western Canal projects. Reviewing the progress of projects being implemented to address the severe drinking water shortage faced by people in the areas of Welikanda, Medirigiriya and Lankapura, the President instructed officials to expedite the completion of projects that would not incur significant costs by using domestic funds.

The President further pointed out the importance of implementing all projects in a highly systematic and organised manner and ensuring that their benefits are delivered to the public. Although certain projects had been suspended midway due to priority being given to essential projects, he stressed that all projects were aimed at addressing the needs of the people and should therefore be carried out in a planned and methodical manner.

Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply Dr Susil Ranasinghe, Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena, Deputy Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply T.B. Sarath, Deputy Minister of Cooperative Development, Upali Samarasinghe, Members of Parliament including Samantha Ranasinghe, Nishantha Samaraweera, Sunil Biyanwila, Manjula Suraweera Arachchi, Shantha Padmakumara Subasinghe, Wasantha Piyathissa, Roshan Akmeemana, Ilan Kumaran, M. Jegadeeswaran, and S. Thilakanadan and Kandasamy Prabhu, Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply L.B. Kumudulal, Director General of the Department of National Budget Jude Nilukshan, Chairman of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board Engineer A.M.P.C.P. Bandara, Chairman of the Water Resources Board R.M.S. Bandara, Director General of the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka H.M.J.K. Herath and several other state officials were also present at the occasion.

(PMD)

News

President of Vietnam and delegation departs Sri Lanka

Published

12 hours ago

2026/05/9

Priyan

Tô Lâm, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and his delegation departed Sri Lanka on Friday (08) night from the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, successfully concluding the State visit undertaken at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The visit by the Vietnamese President and the accompanying delegation further strengthened the longstanding friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Sri Lanka, while paving the way for numerous mutual benefits for the peoples of both countries.

This marked the first visit to Sri Lanka by a Vietnamese President in 15 years. The visit also comes at a significant moment as Sri Lanka continues its forward journey towards economic stability under the present Government.

Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Sunil Handunnetti, was present at the airport to bid farewell to the Vietnamese President and the delegation.

President’s Media Division (PMD)