¡ó¡óÐÂÓïË¿(www.xys.org)(xys.dxiong.com)(xys.3322.org)(xys.xlogit.com)¡ó¡ó New York Times blamed for false reporting on China From: World Wide Media (www.wwm.cn) January 10, 2006 - Dr. Fang Shimin (with a pen name of Fang Zhouzi), an influential Chinese scholar and outspoken public critic, blamed New York Times for one-sided and false reporting on China. NYT ran on December 26 of last year a lengthy story entitled "Seeking a Public Voice on China's 'Angry River'", written by NYT's reporter Jim Yardley. The report said Chinese government had suppressed the voice of "environmentalists" so as to pass a proposal to build dams on the Nu River. The NYT report cited quite a few "environmentalists" as saying that the proposed dam project would fatally damage the ecosystem along the Nu River, which had been designated by UNECO as a "World Heritage Site". It further said that "domestic media coverage has been banned in recent months". Dr Fang Shimin says the NYT report is biased and inaccurate and made serious mistakes in stating the fundamental facts. Contrary to the NYT report, for example, the controversy on the dam project is still hot and never banned in China. Dr Fang wrote a letter on January 1 to NYT editor and Jim Yardley pointing out the errors in the report but has not received any response. Yesterday he published the letter on his website New Thread, which is famous for exposing various wrong deeds and corruptions relating to scientific research. The NYT reporter accessed Dr Fang in early December seeking his comments on the dam project and the ongoing controversy and Dr Fang wrote a lengthy and detailed reply to Yardley's 8 questions. Interestingly and strangely, the published report had not a single word mentioning Dr Fang's view. "Much of its inaccuracy and misinformation could have been avoided if Mr. Yardley had paid any attention to my email reply to his questions dated December 7, 2005," says Dr Fang in his letter to NYT. Dr Fang, 39, was educated in biology and started his graduate studies in USA in 1990. In 1995 he obtained his Ph D degree in biochemistry from Michigan State University. In recent years he has been a well-known figure for his sharp criticism on plagiarism, fake scientific research and other corruptions in Chinese academic communities. "Having been a loyal reader of the New York Times since I came to the US in 1990, I had often been citing the Times as the standard of good journalism when I criticized bad journalism of Chinese media," says Dr Fang in his letter. "I certainly hope I can do the same in the future. Biased and inaccurate reports like this one will only hurt the credibility of the Times." Meanwhile, Professor He Zuoxiu, a prominent Chinese physicist who often speaks on public affairs, also blamed NYT for one-sided reporting. In early December, the same NYT reporter came to He's home and had a 4-hour interview with him about the dam project. In the same way, the published report had not a single word on Professor He's remarks as if all Chinese people are opposing the dam project except for the Chinese government. "NYT just wants to listen to what it likes to hear," Professor He says in an article posted on New Thread. (XYS20060110) ¡ó¡óÐÂÓïË¿(www.xys.org)(xys.dxiong.com)(xys.3322.org)(xys.xlogit.com)¡ó¡ó