Sep 26, 2010
In 1998 I had the chance to go to Shanghai to take part in an Asian
Broadcasting Union meeting. Frankly, the topics for discussion were
mind numbing - political more than practical. But it gave me a
great opportunity to tour some of the radio stations in the city
and keep a kind of audio diary. We experimented with sending files
over the web - and it didn't sound too bad. Certainly good enough
for shortwave. Remember that China is roughly the same size as the
United States, except it has 5 times the population. ABU meetings
have a reputation of doing things on a grand scale, in-fact a scale
of grandeur that has long since died out in Europe. And because
many of the stations have government connections, including this
year's hosts, the Radio and TV of the Peoples' Republic of China,
there's an official reception desk waiting behind passport control.
A young girl in a white jacket spots my briefcase with the Radio
Netherlands sticker. Yes, I am Mr Marks, but for the next few days,
I'm better known as delegate 157 - please hang this large name
badge around you neck. Just in time, I remember to hand out my
business card with two hands, English characters face side up, but
with a hopefully accurate Chinese translation on the back.
It was funny listening to you in Shanghai. As I type this I'm in Shanghai for a few days for a meeting. I'm sitting in a cafe overlooking Nanjing Lu. I'm trying to listen to it as if you just did it. Scary thing is it's still relevant. In many ways you could run it again today in 2010. Yes, things have changed, but the more they change the more they stay the same.
BTW you can still get those videocamera in cinema DVDs. Just pick one up yesterday.
First time I came to Shanghai was 3 months after I arrived in China. Since then I'm been about 4 dozen times. Back in 2001 I recorded some stuff. Need to dig up those tapes.