Non Western News
News reports, editorials, and opinions contain diverse views on global events. The paper does a review of news articles about the United States from around the world, except the western nations (the United States and Europe). This is conducted to ascertain whether such news articles fairly and objectively report about US activities and their impacts on the world.
A Kenyan newspaper, The Daily Nation reported on 15th November, 2013 the move by the United Nations Security Council to reject the request by Kenyan President Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy Mr. William Ruto to have their cases at the International Criminal Court suspended. The reporting of the newspaper is accurate and states some of the countries that voted for and against the request, and also those that abstained from the voting process. The paper further states a quote by the US ambassador to the United Nations that provides the reason why America decided to abstain from voting. In the opinion of the author, abstinence from voting for such resolutions in the UN Security Council is always impacted by an attempt by the abstaining party to avoid offending the country upon which the decision is being made. T
his view could be true considering that the United States ambassador to the United Nations pointed out that her nation is for the opinion that the International Criminal Court is the most ideal place for solving such grievances, yet they failed to vote against the suspension of the cases, the most obvious reason being that they were avoiding casing offense to Kenyans. The other parts of the article are factual especially in reporting the number of lives lost in the post-election violence and the people accused of being behind it. However, the website does not have any other news about the United States since most of their stories are local or regional.
The Buenos Aires Herald, an Argentinian newspaper on 5th of November 2013, reported about the failure of the United States and Russia to come to a consensus on a date that Syrian Peace Conference should be held. The article highlights sources that are of the view that America does not have enough influence to acquire the number of nations to support its stand on the Syrian conflict. This has left the proponents of Syrian rebels with less influence over the problem that is facing Syria. The author tries to promote the opinion that failure by the US and Russia to arrive at a date for the Syrian Peace Conference was caused by the fact that America was not ready for the talks, and required more time to convince more countries to support its faction.
This is highly unlikely since this year; the US announced its readiness to apply military action in Syria without the support of any other nation. Support of other countries is unlikely the priority for the United States and the failure to come to a consensus on the date could have been attributed to by other factions from the Russian side. The objectivity of the report is questionable since it shows the American ‘’opposition’’ side more negatively unlike the Russian side.
A Chinese newspaper, the China Daily, has posted an opinion article titled, ‘’China-US ties rooted in people-to-people bonds.’’ The article points out that healthy diplomatic relations between the United States and China have been enhanced through an exchange of people and the interaction of citizens between the two nations. This has resulted into the acceptability of Western culture in China, characterized by popularity of Hollywood movies, Disney and NBA games that are constantly increasing. On the other hand, Americans are embracing the Chinese language and arts like Kungfu. Education is also another area that has improved the interaction between the two cultures.
The article clearly states that today, more than 235,000 Chinese students are studying in the United States, while an estimated 100,000 US students are studying in China. The article is factual and unbiased in ideas that are apparently aimed at nourishing ties between China and America. The reporting is factual and provides estimated figures, enhancing the credibility and objectivity of the piece. In this article, the United States has been portrayed as a friendly nation that gives room for interaction and exchange of ideas. It makes its conclusion by pointing out that China is committed to the reformation of its system and promotion of justice and social equality, which area values that are strongly advocated for by America. The website also has other articles about the United States that present a friendly perspective of the nation.
Japan Today is a newspaper of Japanese origin published in Tokyo. An article in one of the newspaper issues titled, ‘’Why Kennedy was appointed United States ambassador to Japan’’ claims to provide a reason why the appointment of US ambassador, Caroline Kennedy who is the sister to former US president John F. Kennedy is aimed at preparing her for future entry into full time politics.
According to the author, her posting as ambassador to Japan was a carefully calculated move since working in a third world country would be more challenging for a new entrant into diplomacy: thus, Japan being with less problems is less controversial and neutral, and can be handled by a diplomat with less experience. The piece is more subjective, and portrays more of a personal opinion unlike solid facts. There could be some truth in these assertions since the appointment might have been made for some strategic reasons; however, it can only be regarded as rumor until such truth is uncovered.
News reporting on the events and influences of the United States are generally fair and friendly across the world, except for articles in some news outlets that present personal opinion instead of factual information. This could be taken to mean that the United States enjoys warm diplomatic ties with most non-western nations.
Reference
“China-US ties rooted in people-to-people bonds” China Daily, November 19, 2013. Web.
November 19, 2013.
<http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2013-11/19/content_17114481.htm>
“UN rejects bid to stop Uhuru Ruto ICC cases” The Daily Nation, November 15, 2013. Web.
November 19, 2013.
<http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/United-Nations-Security-Council-Vote-ICC-Cases/-/1064/2074792/-/lnsn6o/-/index.html>
“US-Russia fail to agree Syria peace talks date” Buenos Aires Herald, November 5, 2013.
Web November 19, 2013
<http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/144555/us-russia-fail-to-agree-syria-peace-talks-date>
“Why Kennedy was appointed U.S. ambassador to Japan” Japan Today, November 19, 2013.
Web November 19, 2013.
<http://www.japantoday.com/category/kuchikomi/view/why-caroline-kennedy-was-appointed-u-s-ambassador-to-japan>