14.5 hours on an airplane, but two weeks in fascinating Pakistan
I’m gearing up for one of the world’s most grueling flights to one of the world’s most interesting places.

First, the flight: a 14.5 hour doozy from Seattle to Doha, the middle leg of a three-flight sequence that will take me from Honolulu to Karachi, Pakistan. The other two flights, 6 hours (Honolulu to Seattle) and 2.5 hours (Doha to Karachi), aren’t bad, but it’s the 14.5 hour flight that’s keeping me up at night. I had the travel agent look into what an upgrade to business/first class would cost on this flight, and the result was amazing--$20,000, which is just a bit out of reach for me. (In the same way that posterizing dunk over LeBron James is also beyond my abilities). So, I’ve had to settle for an aisle seat, confirmed, the whole way. (I was originally schedule to connect at LAX, but rebooked because of the possibility of wildfire-created disruptions). 

The reward on the other end is a couple of weeks in Pakistan, teaching radio and podcasting writing and production to journalists in four cities—Karachi, Quetta, Sukkur, and Hyderabad. I’ll be working with the Global Neighborhood for Media Innovation (GNMI) and their local trainers as well.

During my visit, I’ll also be hosting a dinner with the Pakistan Union of Journalists, and discussing the East-West Center’s long running Cross Border Reporting project with the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. We hope to renew our partnership on this outstanding project that trains Indian and Pakistani journalists then pairs them up to jointly report stories of mutual interest, like climate change. 

Stay tuned for updates beginning next week, provided I survive the flight.

 

The fellows visited the Asia Pacific Center for
Security Studies in Honolulu. 

Leading Jefferson Fellows: An invigorating experience
My recent stint as program coordinator for the East-West Center’s Jefferson Fellowship was among the most rewarding of my career as a trainer and project manager, despite more than our share of ‘act of God’ bumps in the road.

One of the primary reasons for my satisfaction was due to the fellows themselves, 12 journalists from the Asia-Pacific region. They were a delight to work with—smart, dedicated, fun-loving, intellectually curious, and never at a loss for a quip or smart-alecky comment. They consistently impressed me with their professionalism and energy. And, they were consistently on time, which was a big bonus to an anal retentive timekeeper/taskmaster such as myself.

Another reason that shepherding these journalists was rewarding was because of the expert groundwork laid for the fellowship’s stints in Honolulu, Manila, and Taipei by our crack staff at the East-West Center. On the old “Mash” TV show, a character named Radar anticipated what the colonel wanted before he even asked for it. On this project, I worked with four Radars who provided me with everything I needed, and many things I didn’t know that I needed until I needed them, to successfully run a program. Tasha, Lizzy, Carolyn, and Kellie are consummate professionals. My colleagues Devon and Meril also made substantial contributions on behalf of the fellowship, as did Denny Roy, an EWC researcher who accompanied us during the fellowship. It was marvelous to have a regional expert at our fingertips.

The topic of this year’s fellowship was regional security, which is hardly my area of expertise. I enjoyed learning about these security challenges, and what’s being done to address them.

Since the fellowship occurred only six weeks after I began at the East-West Center, my learning curve was steep. Without patient guidance from the aforementioned colleagues and Ann Hartman, director and dean of Professional Development and Education Programs, I would surely have sunk like a rock. Instead, I was at least semi-buoyant. I'm grateful for their mentorship.

I have promised all of my colleagues that I will take full advantage of having much more time to plan the next Jefferson Fellowships, which will be in October, 2025. In fact, we’ll start our planning in a few weeks, beginning with the theme and location. Stay tuned for details.

An aging (aged?) journalism program coordinator on the left,
EWC researcher Denny Roy on the right, and 2024
Jefferson Fellows in the middle.

Jeff Fellow Stevenson Liu from Vanuatu takes in the
scale of Taiwan's Zhaishan Tunnel.

Jefferson Fellows explore Taiwan's many facets
It’s not often that one gets to visit a national parliament. Or a campus where most of the world’s most advanced microchips are made. Or a former underground supply tunnel for warships. Yet, this is exactly what the East West Center’s Jefferson Fellows experienced this week in Taiwan. The Jefferson Fellows are 12 journalists from the Asia Pacific Region on a study and reporting tour of Honolulu, Manila, and finally Taiwan. I am the Jeffs project coordinator for the East-West Center.

These visits stood out for me:

The Taiwan Fact Check Center hosted the fellows. It is the first fact checking organization operating in Chinese that has been certified by the International Fact Checking Network. Chief Executive Eva Chiu said Taiwan is the most-targeted country when it comes to disinformation. (My friends in Moldova might dispute this). Disinformation, deepfakes, and cheapfakes coming from mainland China threaten to destabilize and undermine Taiwan. That’s why the Fact Check Center promotes media literacy, and shares its fact checking tips with journalists.

The journalists toured Kinmen Island, which lies only 10km from mainland China. Kinmen is part of a group of Taiwan-governed islands, and was the site of intense fighting during the Chinese civil war and later in the 1950’s. We visited Zhaishan Tunnel, which allowed military and coast guard boats to load and unload cargo and personnel without being bombarded. It is no longer in use, but is open as an unusual museum.

 Another highlight was our visit to the Hsinchu Science Park Bureau, where a cluster of manufacturers supply 90% of the world’s most advanced microchips, and a 68% market share of all chip production (Wired). We heard an interesting presentation about the microchip industry, and took a tour of the enormous manufacturing and R&D zone that houses the chip makers and others.

Jeff Fellows at Taiwan's Legislative Yuan (parliament)

Our last official visit was to the Taiwan's Legislative Yuan, similar to  parliament. We met Johnny Chiang, the vice president of the Legislative Yuan, and several of his legislative colleagues. I made a short five minute speech about the Jefferson Fellows program and the East West Center that no doubt set back Taiwanese-U.S. relations by decades. The Jeff journalists then had a chance to pepper the politicians with probing questions about using immigrants in the Taiwanese armed forces; the chances of a Chinese invasion (“very low right now”); the upcoming Trump presidency; and whether Taiwan relies too much on the U.S. (“no.”) 

Other visits included stops at foreign policy think tanks; an organization that manages cross straits relations (the Straits Exchange Foundation); a civil defense organization (Kuma Academy), and the American Institute in Taiwan, the pseudo U.S. embassy in the country.

The week in Taiwan was fascinating, and delicious. I now know why Taipei is listed among the world’s best culinary cities.

Next week, I’ll wrap up my discussion of the Jefferson Fellowships with a few of my own observations.

Never a dull moment for the Jefferson Fellows,
not even on the bus

 

 

 

 

 

Briefing aboard a Filipino Coast Guard vessel

Jeff Fellows explore maritime disputes in the Philippines
After a great week in Honolulu, 12 Jefferson Fellows—journalists from throughout the Indo-Pacific region—journeyed to Manila, Philippines to continue their research, study, and reporting tour. 

The Jefferson Fellowship is the flagship journalism program of the East-West Center. 

The highlight of our stay in Manila, in my opinion, was a fascinating visit to a Philippine Coast Guard vessel, the BRP Sindangan, which carries 44 sailors on 2-3 day missions to resupply their forces located throughout the South China Sea. These resupply missions are anything but routine. Since China also claims these waters, Chinese vessels regularly harass Filipino ships by firing water cannons, ramming, and swerving to impede. (See Video 1, Video 2 of these incidents). The captain of the BRP Sindangan visited with the journalists, discussing his ship’s harrowing adventures. He showed video clips of these incidents, the most recent of which just occurred last week. The journalists also got to tour the ship, including the bridge. I was told later this captain is noted for his daring, and his skill, in evading Chinese challengers.

Philippines Coast Guard 
vessel BRP Sindangan

China claims sections of the Philippine and South China Seas, though an international tribunal in 2016 brushed aside these claims, and ruled that the disputed waters belong to the Philippines.

The Jefferson Fellows also visited the online media outlet Rappler, home to Nobel Peace Prize winner and Jefferson Fellow alumnus Maria Ressa. She co-founded Rappler with Glenda Gloria, who spoke to the group about the challenge of running a media outlet during the Duterte presidency, when 12 legal cases were filed against Ressa and Rappler. Gloria said things are better now (they’re down to two legal cases), though far from perfect—going from “hell to purgatory,” she said. Rappler rests on three pillars—journalism, community and civic engagement, and technology, according to Gloria, who noted that the outlet’s “biggest competitors are social media content providers.” Rappler staffer and current Jefferson Fellow Bea Cupin then made a fascinating presentation about the Filipino personalities and politics involved with the maritime disputes with China, and discussed her experience reporting these incidents.

The reporters also met with Philippines Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner. He and four lieutenants answered questions from the Jefferson journalists about deployments in the South China Sea, about the impact of the Trump presidency on U.S. policy towards the Philippines, the transparency initiative which releases videos of Chinese water cannon and laser attacks, and strategies related to dealing with Chinese aggression.

The last day in Manila featured fascinating presentations by Richard Heydarian, an economics and trade analyst, and Antonio Carpio, a former associate justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, who discussed legal remedies to Chinese aggression.

Our stay in Manila also featured a meet-and-greet reception featuring the Jefferson Fellows and Filipino alumni of East-West Center programs. 

The Jefferson Fellows are off to Taipei, Taiwan today for another series of interesting meetings, tours, and reporting opportunities. Stay tuned for details.

At the East West Center alumni reception,
Century Park Hotel, Manila

Jefferson Fellow Charley Piringi (Solomon Islands)
at the USS Arizona memorial. 

Jefferson Fellow journalists meet, learn, report in Hawai'i
Take 12 journalists from the Asia Pacific region, add in many informative diplomatic and military briefings, stir in lots of journalistic expertise, and voila—you have the 2024 Jefferson Fellowships, which convened this week in Honolulu, Hawai’i.

The Jefferson Fellowship, sponsored by the East-West Center, is an annual event bringing journalists from the region together to study and report on issues of vital importance. The theme of this year’s fellowship is, “Partnerships, Postures and Perils: Assessing East Asia Security and Economic Environments.” The fellows this year are traveling to Hawai'i, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

This week, they fellows went to the US military’s Indo-Pacific Command, met with experts at the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, diplomats from consulates here in Honolulu, East West Center experts, as well as (via Zoom) David Sanger, New York Times White House and national security reporter.

Fellow Tingting Liu from Taiwan 
presents her research paper.

A few key takeaways:

--There is “no imminent threat of war” between the US and China because neither country wants this to happen, according to a senior US defense official
--Biden has managed competition with China competently, but hasn’t done enough, and hasn’t acted fast enough, according to Sanger
--The US won’t get involved in disputes about South China Sea islands, Sanger said
--Trump’s foreign policy consists of four themes: America is not exceptional; the US doesn’t benefit from international leadership; nationalism is good and globalism bad; and the military should be strengthened, according to EWC research and Indo-Pacific whisperer Dr. Denny Roy.

The Jefferson Fellows each also presented research papers on topics like China’s influence in the Solomon Islands; the Philippines middle power strategy; and the big picture in the South China Sea. Finally, they visited Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Arizona memorial--a powerful moment, since most of them were previously unaware of what happened on December 7, 1941.

It’s great to see how the journalists have already bonded, sharing both expertise and laughs. It’s going to be fun to travel with this group the next two weeks to Manila and Taipei. Stay tuned to this space for updates.

Jefferson Fellows visit the Asia-Pacific Center for
Security Studies in Honolulu.