Samoa Observer signs deal with Xinhua News Agency

The Samoa Observer and China’s state-owned news organization, Xinhua National News Agency, have entered into an agreement allowing the Observer to benefit from Xinhua’s global newsgathering networks free of charge.

Concluded in Apia on Monday, the agreement was signed on behalf of the Samoa Observer by its Editor in Chief, Savea Sano Malifa, and on behalf of Xinhua News Agency by its Suva Bureau Chief Correspondent, Liu Peng (Philip Liu).

Mr Liu Peng arrived from Suva on Sunday to sign the agreement.

In a letter last week, he said: “Xinhua is offering free access to its database to the Samoa Observer Media Group, and I'm now sending a snapshot of the database, which will give you a general idea of it."

“The database used to allow guests to see partial content, but not any longer. I am now providing you a guest account, so that you can take a closer look of Xinhua's database.”

He gave the Username and the Password.

He wrote: “If the Samoa Observer Media Group wishes to own its exclusive access to Xinhua's database, we need to sign a news and information exchange agreement, which is friendly, brief and with no strings-attached. No fees are needed."

“I have the draft agreement ready and will carry my stamp with me, so that if you decide to fast-track it, we can get it done on site and secure your exclusive access to Xinhua's database, which will keep you updated on news events that are happening around the world.”

The five-year agreement commenced on 14 July 2014; it is renewed automatically at the end of that period if neither of the parties wanted it terminated “the agreement may be renewed continuously.”

Xinhua News Agency is the press agency of the People's Republic of China.

According to Wikipedia, it operates 107 foreign bureaus worldwide, and maintains 31 bureaus in China, one for each province plus a military bureau.

Xinhua is the sole channel for the distribution of important news related to the Communist Party and the Chinese central government.

Many newspapers in China rely on Xinhua feeds for content. People's Daily, for example, uses Xinhua material for about 25 percent of its stories.

Xinhua is a publisher as well as a news agency—it owns more than 20 newspapers and a dozen magazines, and it prints in eight languages: Chinese, English, Spanish, French, Russian, Portuguese, Arabic and Japanese.

Xinhua began operation in November 1931 as the Red China News Agency and changed to its current name in 1937.

During the Pacific War the agency developed overseas broadcasting capabilities and established its first overseas branches.

It began broadcasting to foreign countries in English from 1944. When the communists took power in China, the agency represented the Chinese Communist Party in countries and territories with which it had no diplomatic representation, such as Hong Kong.

The agency was described as the "eyes and tongue" of the Party, observing what is important for the masses and passing on the information.

A former Xinhua director, Zheng Tao, noted that the agency was a bridge between the Party, the government and the people, communicating both the demands of the people and the policies of the Party.

Like many other media organizations, Xinhua struggled to find the "right line" to use in covering the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

Although more cautious than People's Daily in its treatment of sensitive topics during that period – such as how to commemorate reformist Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang's April 1989 death, the then ongoing demonstrations in Beijing and elsewhere, and basic questions of press freedom and individual rights – Xinhua gave some favorable coverage to demonstrators and intellectuals who were questioning top party leaders.

Even so, many Xinhua reporters were angry with top editors for not going far enough and for suppressing stories about the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

For several days after the violence on June 4, almost no-one at Xinhua did any work, and journalists demonstrated inside the Agency's Beijing compound.

Government control of the media increased after the protests – top editors at the agency's bureaus in Hong Kong and Macau were replaced with appointees who were "loyal to China" rather than those with ties to either Hong Kong or Macau.

Today, Xinhua News Agency delivers its news across the world in six languages: Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic, as well as news pictures and other kinds of news.

It has made contracts to exchange news and news pictures with more than eighty foreign news agencies or political news departments. Xinhua is also responsible for handling reports from foreign media destined for release in China.

The agency recently began to converge its news and electronic media coverage and has increased its English coverage through its wire service and chinaview.cn web site.

Xinhua has acquired commercial real estate on New York's Times Square and is developing a staff of top-tier English-language reporters. Xinhua has also started an English-language satellite news network.

Under the agreement between the Samoa Observer and Xinhua News Agency however, Xinhua News will begin “supplying English News Bulletins and Chinese News Bulletins within 30 days after the signing of this agreement at no cost to the Observer.”

Also, Xinhua News is bound by the agreement to “improve on the quality of information provided, times of transmission, technology demands of the service provided to the Observer, (and) resolve issues regarding the supply of news article in a timely manner.”

As for the Samoa Observer, it has the right to publish or broadcast news and information supplied by Xinhua but it is not entitled to other rights unless it has been authorized by Xinhua.

Also, the Observer “must acknowledge Xinhua News as the source of the news and information” it is using as well as “the author’s name,” and it may not make “substantial modifications to the news and information supplied by Xinhua.”

Additionally, the Observer cannot use “any other products” owned by Xinhua other than the “news and information to be supplied under this agreement.”

And lastly, “in the performance of this Agreement, the Observer shall not be liable to any third parties for any information given by Xinhua. Observer shall not be liable to any claim whatsoever under this agreement.”

Asked for a comment, Savea said: “I’m delighted. I believe that any form of cooperation among media organizations promising hope in the pursuit of universal freedom of expression among nations should be applauded."

“Samoa is still very much isolated didactically from the outside world despite the Internet, and now with this agreement Xinhua will be bringing news from its 107 bureaus worldwide to Samoa so that as we become much more enlightened as a result, that in itself should be benefit enough.

“Besides, as this seemingly cordial relationship existing between Samoa and China is showing no sign of slowing down, perhaps it is time we accept that it is here to stay, so that the thing to do then is learn how we can seriously benefit from it."

“And what better way to do that than sharing information and knowledge about China’s culture and its way of life, as well as about its relationship with other nations of the world, that Xinhua News Agency is now pledging to provide us?”