Mekong-Lancang media organisations enhance cooperation

Kunming, Yunnan province: Media organisations from China and the four Mekong sub-region or Lancang-Mekong countries are currently attending the 3rd Seminar for Media Officials and Journalists to enhance cooperation. 
The seminar began on July 22 and was opened by the Editor in Chief of the Yunnan Daily Press Group (YDPG), Mr Yang Run. The Group organised the seminar, which is taking place here from July 22-29.

Lao representative Mr Panyasith Thammavongsa (front row, fourth left) addresses the 3rd Seminar for Media Officials and Journalists from Mekong countries yesterday in Yunnan province, China.

Four representatives each from four media organisations in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand are attending the seminar, which is supported by the Yunnan provincial government with the theme ‘Experiencing Beautiful Yunnan’.
In his address, Mr Yang Run said “The Chinese saying goes that the best of men are like water, as water benefits all things and does not compete with anything.”
The Lancang-Mekong River links China to Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. And it was the Mekong waters that gave rise to the friendship and cooperation among the six Mekong countries, he said.
In recent years, with the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Lancang-Mekong cooperation mechanism was established, and Yunnan has been building itself into a pivot for China’s opening up to South and Southeast Asia, he added.
As a result, the concept of building a community with a shared future has been well accepted in the Lancang-Mekong countries (LMC), breaking new ground for cooperation among the six nations.
The media was not only a recorder or communicator but also a participant and builder of LMC. As the most extensive press group in Yunnan, the YDPG has strengthened its international communication through cooperation with major media in other countries, especially those in the Mekong countries. In this way, YDPG has contributed to information sharing and building friendship among people in the Mekong basin, he said.
“From 2013 to 2108, we forged partnerships in succession with the Yangon Times, Democracy Today and Golden Phoenix in Myanmar, the Vientiane Times in Laos; The Nation in Thailand and Rasmei Kampuchea in Cambodia. Now China Yunnan is part of these newspapers,” he added.
He noted that the past two seminars generated a positive response from the Mekong countries. The participants learnt a lot and media professionals were in favour of the LMC and Belt and Road cooperation.
Features Editor from the Vientiane Times, Mr Panyasith Thammavongsa, who is a representative of the Lao delegation, told the seminar that “In past years, cooperation between China and the Mekong-Lancang countries has strengthened and developed in many areas, particularly in the media which plays a crucial role in greatly enhancing our cooperation and relations.”
Cooperation between Laos and China in particular had grown in recent years. In the media, the two countries have carried out in-depth collaboration. In 2015, the Vientiane Times teamed up with the Yunnan Daily Press Group to publish China Yunnan news pages in Laos. For more than three years, China Yunnan has published one each week, which has become a window for Lao officials to learn more about China and the southwest province of Yunnan. It has promoted mutual understanding between Lao and Chinese people, contributing to the long-lasting friendship between the two countries, Mr Panyasith said.  
During their visit, participants will get to experience the city of Anning, ride a bullet train to Dinosaur Valley in central Yunnan, visit Guandu old town to learn about its cultural heritage, and visit Champa magazine, which is a part of the Yunnan Daily Press Group’s cooperation with Laos, as well as other well-known places in Yunnan.

(Latest Update July 23, 2019)