CHAPTER 4. RESULTS
4.3 TOPICS
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Chinese origin China Daily 13 (3.2)
14 (3.5)
Others 1 (0.2)
Local origin
Own journalists or
editors 186 (45.9)
215 (53.1)
Others 29 (7.2)
Other Asian Press 28 (6.9)
4.3 Topics
4.3.1 Malaysia
RQ3 asks what kind of topics are centered on when reporting on the BRI. Table 4-8 indicate that the topic of BRI news varies according to its origin. Articles with Malaysian origins pay the most attention to the introduction or economic results of BRI (74.5 percent), the country’s economy or influences abroad (58.3 percent) and its domestic politics or influences abroad (38.5 percent). The percentage of covering Chinese culture related content (11.3 percent) is the highest among the three countries.
Articles of foreign origins more often focus on China’s politics (48.1 percent), economy (35.1) abroad than local affairs (all below 10 percent). Introduction or economic results of BRI projects (52.7 percent) is also one of the major features. In general, foreign and local news agencies are complementary in terms of reporting field.
Foreign news agencies are indispensable to local media, because they provide more information from abroad, which local media media might lack. Foreign reports are also one of the information providers for the South China Sea for the three countries (8.4 percent).
As for articles with Chinese origins, introduction or economic results of BRI projects is one of the main features for all three countries (53.8 percent). Chinese reports are used to understand China’s politics (30.8 percent) or economy (34.6 percent).
Among 26 BRI articles with Chinese origins from all three countries, none of them
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mentions the South China Sea.
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Table 4-8 Number and percentage of topics for Malaysia.
Country Origins
Number (percentage)
Politics in general Economics in general
Chinese
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If we distinguish BRI articles into three groups (politics in general, economy in general, and both politics and economy), then we can see the differences between how press report BRI (see Table 4-9). For example, in Malaysia, the Star and New Straits Times prefer to introduce BRI from the economic perspective (around 36 percent), whereas politics only content is approximately ten percent. On the other hand, Malaysiakini more often reports BRI with both political and economic content (65.5 percent). It also pays almost the same amount of attention to politics (18.2 percent) and economy (16.4 percent) content.
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Table 4-9 Distribution of political, economic in general and mixed topics of BRI news among Malaysian media.
Country Media News origin
Number (%) Politics in
general
Economy in general
Both politics and economy
Malaysia
The Star
Foreign origin (n=96) 25 (26) 34 (35.4) 37 (38.5) Chinese origin (n=21) 4 (19) 7 (33.3) 10 (47.6) Local origin (n=142) 12 (8.5) 55 (38.7) 75 (52.8)
Other Asian Press (n=3) 2 (66.7) 0 1 (33.3)
Total (n=262) 43 (16.4) 96 (36.6) 123 (46.9)
New Straits Times
Foreign origin (n=27) 6 (22.2) 4 (14.8) 17 (63.0)
Chinese origin (n=3) 0 1 (33.3) 2 (66.7)
Local origin (n=61) 3 (4.9) 27 (44.3) 31 (50.8)
Total (n=91) 9 (9.9) 32 (35.2) 50 (54.9)
Malaysiakini
Foreign origin (n=8) 1 (12.5) 1 (12.5) 6 (75)
Chinese origin (n=2) 0 0 2 (100)
Local origin (n=45) 9 (20) 8 (17.8) 28 (62.2)
Total (n=55) 10 (18.2) 9 (16.4) 36 (65.5)
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4.3.2 Republic of Philippines
Table 4-10 shows that if itemized by news origins, each origin covers different topics of BRI. Local origins focus mostly on introduction or economic results of BRI projects (45.8 percent) and the activities, remarks of high-level officials (37.3 percent) such as presidents, prime ministers, foreign and other ministers. About one-fifth (21.7 percent) of the articles touch on the South China Sea issue, higher than other origins.
Both foreign (80.5 percent) and Chinese origins (87.5 percent) mostly cover Chinese economy or its economic influence abroad.
Table 4-11 shows that Inquirer has a lower percentage of covering both economic and political aspects of BRI in an article (13 percent). Manila Bulletin of the Philippines has a trend of reporting more economic content of BRI (45.5 percent) than politics (18.2 percent). Rappler does not have a preference over political (22.7 percent) or economic materials (18.2 percent) while reporting on BRI. It has the highest ratio of both economic and political topics (59.1 percent) in the country.
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Table 4-10 Number and percentage of topics of BRI news from Philippine press.
Country Origins
Number (percentage)
Politics in general Economics in general
Chinese
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Table 4-11 Distribution of political, economic in general and mixed topics of BRI news among Philippine press.
Country Media News origin
Number (%) Politics in
general
Economy in general
Both politics and economy
The Philippines
Inquirer
Foreign origin (n=8) 1 (12.5) 4 (50) 3 (37.5)
Chinese origin (n=2) 0 2 (100) 0
Local origin (n=23) 9 (39.1) 11 (47.8) 3 (13.0)
Other Asian Press (n=4) 3 (75) 1 (25) 0
Total (n=37) 13 (35.1) 18 (48.6) 6 (16.2)
Manila Bulletin
Foreign origin (n=29) 3 (10.3) 13 (44.8) 13 (44.8)
Chinese origin (n=6) 0.0 4 (66.7) 2 (33.3)
Local origin (n=42) 11 (26.2) 18 (42.9) 13 (31.0) Total (n=77) 14 (18.2) 35 (45.5) 28 (36.4)
Rappler
Foreign origin (n=4) 1 (25) 1 (25) 2 (50)
Chinese origin (n=0) 0 0 0
Local origin (n=18) 4 (22.2) 3 (16.7) 11 (61.1)
Total (n=22) 5 (22.7) 4 (18.2) 13 (59.1)
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4.3.3 Republic of Singapore
Table 4-12 shows that in Singapore, China’s economy (43.3 percent), politics (41.4 percent) and its influences abroad remain the most used topics. Domestic economy (37.7 percent), high-level officials’ activities (37.2 percent), and domestic politics (10.4 percent), however, are a little less featured. Singapore is the only country that focus more on Chinese or foreign countries than its own affairs, showing a tendency of observing how other countries respond to the BRI. Among the BRI reports from other Asian press, three-fourth of them (75 percent) are about China’s political matters in the region.
If topics were divided into politics and economy, Table 4-13 shows that The Straits Times of Singapore pays equal attention to both politics (27.4 percent) and economy (27.9 percent) only content of BRI.
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Table 4-12 Number and percentage of topics covered by The Straits Times of Singapore.
Country Origins
Number (percentage)
Politics in general Economics in general
Chinese
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Table 4-13 Number and percentage of politics, economy or both topics covered by The Straits Times of Singapore.
Country Media News origin
Number (%) Politics in
general
Economy in general
Both politics and economy
Singapore The Straits Times
Foreign origin (n=148) 43 (29.1) 39 (26.4) 66 (44.6) Chinese origin (n=14) 1 (7.1) 5 (35.7) 8 (57.1)
Local origin (n=215) 59 (27.4) 66 (30.7) 90 (41.9) Other Asian Press (n=28) 8 (28.6) 3 (10.7) 17 (60.7) Total (n=405) 111 (27.4) 113 (27.9) 181 (44.7)
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4.4 Tendency 4.4.1 Malaysia
RQ4 investigates the tendency of BRI reports among Singaporean, Malaysian and Philippine press. Table 4-14 shows the distribution of tendency of BRI articles among Malaysian press based on the coding instruction of BRI (see Appendix A). Difference appears according to the news origin of BRI media content. Chinese origin predominantly pose a positive image on BRI (76.2 to 100 percent). None of them depicts BRI negatively. Mixed views (0 to 9.5 percent) are also the lowest among other news origins. BRI articles with foreign origins have the highest percentage of mixed standpoints (25 to 48.1 percent) compared to other origins.
The Star (85.9 percent), New Straits Times (83.6 percent) are strong supporters and advocates of BRI. Malaysiakini has a more balanced point of view, with both positive and negative points around thirty percent.
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Table 4-14 Distribution of tendency of BRI articles among Malaysian press.
Country Media News origin Number (%)
Positive Negative Mixed No judgement
Malaysia
The Star
Foreign origin (n=96) 24 (25) 6 (6.3) 44 (45.8) 22 (22.9)
Chinese origin (n=21) 16 (76.2) 0 2 (9.5) 3 (14.3)
Local origin (n=142) 122 (85.9) 2 (1.4) 15 (10.6) 3 (2.1)
Other Asian Press (n=3) 1 (33.3) 0 1 (33.3) 1 (33.3)
Total (n=262) 163 (62.2) 8 (3.1) 62 (23.7) 29 (11.1)
New Straits Times
Foreign origin (n=27) 4 (14.8) 7 (25.9) 13 (48.1) 3 (11.1)
Chinese origin (n=3) 3 (100.0) 0 0 0
Local origin (n=61) 51 (83.6) 1 (1.6) 6 (9.8) 3 (4.9)
Total (n=91) 58 (63.7) 8 (8.8) 19 (20.9) 6 (6.6)
Malaysiakini
Foreign origin (n=8) 2 (25.0) 4 (50.0) 2 (25.0) 0
Chinese origin (n=2) 2 (100.0) 0 0 0
Local origin (n=45) 14 (31.1) 13 (28.9) 10 (22.2) 8 (17.8)
Total (n=55) 18 (32.7) 17 (30.9) 12 (21.8) 8 (14.5)
Total (n=408) 239 (58.6) 33 (8.1) 93 (22.8) 43 (10.5)
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4.4.2 Republic of Philippines
Table 4-15 shows that in general, Philippine press describe BRI with positive results more often (40.4 percent) than negative results (12.5 percent). This trend is even more obvious in BRI news with local origins. More than half of the BRI articles with local origins from Inquirer (70.0 percent), Manila Bulletin (52.4 percent) describe BRI positively. Inquirer does not have any mixed reports of BRI. Rappler is the lowest (22.2 percent) in positive and the highest in mixed views toward BRI (38.9 percent). Chinese origins used by Philippine press are all positive. On the other hand, foreign origins often describe BRI with mixed reviews. Only positive, negative and mixed samples will be analyzed in the following section. This leaves us 106 BRI reports from Philippine press.
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Table 4-15 Distribution of tendency of BRI articles among Philippine press.
Country Media News origin
Number (%)
Positive Negative Mixed No
judgement
The Philippines
Inquirer
Foreign origin (n=8) 0 3 (37.5) 5 (62.5) 0
Chinese origin (n=2) 2 (100) 0 0 0
Local origin (n=23) 14 (70) 3 (15) 0 3 (15)
Other Asian Press (n=4) 0.0 1 (14.3) 2 (28.6) 4 (57.1)
Total (n=37) 16 (43.2) 7 (18.9) 7 (18.9) 7 (18.9)
Manila Bulletin
Foreign origin (n=29) 7 (24.1) 4 (13.8) 13 (44.8) 5 (17.2)
Chinese origin (n=6) 6 (100) 0 0 0
Local origin (n=42) 22 (52.4) 3 (7.1) 4 (9.5) 13 (31.0)
Total (n=77) 35 (45.5) 7 (9.1) 17 (22.1) 18 (23.4)
Rappler
Foreign origin (n=4) 0 1 (25) 3 (75) 0
Chinese origin (n=0) 0 0 0 0
Local origin (n=18) 4 (22.2) 2 (11.1) 7 (38.9) 5 (27.8)
Total (n=22) 4 (18.2) 3 (13.6) 10 (45.5) 5 (22.7)
Total (n=136) 55 (40.4) 17 (12.5) 34 (25.0) 30 (22.1)
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Table 4-16 shows that positive BRI reports (45.4 percent) appear the most in The Straits Times. Negative BRI reports also number the lowest in Singapore (4.7 percent).
Mixed BRI reports, which contain both positive and negative sides, are the highest in Singapore (35.1 percent) among other countries. BRI news with local origins seem supportive towards BRI (60.9 percent) and only has 2.3 percent of negative BRI reports.
Mixed reports is relatively high (23.7 percent) comparing to other press, only Rappler is higher than The Straits Times. A total of 345 positive, negative or mixed samples will be analyzed in the following section.
Table 4-16 Distribution of tendency of BRI articles from The Straits Times of Singapore.
Country Media News
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in reporting on BRI. Since objective samples reveal a less obvious tone on BRI, and to further identify frames in BRI articles, only positive, negative and mixed samples will be analyzed in the following section. Four frames, including economic incentive, economic concern, political stability and political threat, are proposed. This section will first listing examples for each of the four frames and then display the table of frames distribution for each country. A summary of arguments for each frame will be listed in the discussion section.
4.5.1 Economic Incentive Frame
The economic incentive frame includes the positive sides of BRI, such as increasing trade, jobs, wealth, or talent exchange. It has the premise that BRI promotes globalization, which is regarded as positive for local economy by users of this frame.
The following excerpts are extracted from BRI reports of the three countries.
BRI is important for Malaysia because China is regarded by some as the only country in investor mode and with excess capacity in the region (Malaysiakini, 2017, July 20), and it has invested in infrastructure development along BRI countries.
"Today, which other countries in the world right now are in investment mode? Tidak ada (none)…. (But) China is in investment mode….It will create employment, stimulate the economy during difficult times and bring capital,” (Malaysiakini, 2017, July 20)
According to Singaporean officials, the role of Singapore is different than other Southeastern countries. Singapore has the financial capital and services to be an investor in BRI.
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Singapore's competitive advantage lies partly in the fact that it is well-governed, upholds the rule of law, has a highly educated population and is a respected financial centre and port, he said (Toh, 2017, August 28)..
a. BRI can fill infrastructure needs
Most ASEAN members are lack of infrastructure connectivity according to reports, and there is a need of infrastructure improvement. Due to the lack of capital, BRI helps promote local economy and get rid of poverty. Several economic benefits are mentioned while using the economic incentive frame.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated the infrastructure needs in the region as requiring US$750 billion in investments annually until 2020, which it cannot finance on its own. The Philippines’ infrastructure financing needs from 2010 through 2020 was placed at $127.12 billion (or P5.98 trillion).
This will require an annual investment of $11.56 billion (P543.5 billion), which the government failed to fill in the past six years (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2016, July 4).
‘…China’s program on infrastructure development with the One Belt, One Road is creating better connectivity making all the nations be able to reach out in terms of transporting people and goods’, he (ASEAN Business Advisory Council chairman Joey Concepcion) said in response to a reporter’s question.
(Quismorio, 2017, November 12)
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… getting the entirety of Asia thinking about how interstate cooperation can bridge the gap between countries with intense infrastructure needs (e.g., the Philippines and many other countries) and one country with excess capacity (China). (Manhit, 2017, May 22)
"The Belt and Road initiative offers tremendous economic opportunities. If connectivity improves, people travel, investment flows increase, we (Singapore) will benefit if we are ready and smart," said Mr. Shanmugam, who is a former foreign minister (Toh via The Straits Times, 2017, August 28).
For some from Malaysia, the goal is boosting economy through improving infrastructure level.
The (East Coast Rail Link, ECRL) rail line will drive connectivity and economic growth for Malaysia's underdeveloped east coast, and act as a land-bridge enabling cost- and time-efficient transport of goods between Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
(Razak, 2017, May 12)
b. BRI can help sell local products
According to Malaysian reports, the exports of electronics, oil and gas, palm oil, fisheries (Foon, 2017 November 20), halal products (Rasid, 2017 May 28), bird net (Yusof, 2017 October 28) increased due to the opportunities BRI has offered. Sales of bananas and pineapples to China from the Philippines also climbed (Kabiling, 2017, March 14).
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…with Chinese Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma appointed as the adviser to the Malaysian digital economy, expanding the business will benefit and impact the business ecosystem in Malaysia as a whole, from wholesaling to retailing, both online and offline, as this will create more entrepreneurs to start e-commerce businesses (Begum, 2017 July 20)
Sales of bananas and pineapples to China from the Philippines also climbed (Kabiling, 2017, March 14). In addition, BRI can help SME and other economic activities such as e-commerce.
…as countries like China take the lead in creating this infrastructure and improving connectivity, it presents opportunities for our smaller entrepreneurs to access these markets… China’s massive project on really putting this infrastructure, to connect all these countries together actually enhances the chance of many of our SMEs in the ASEAN region to benefit from it,” Concepcion explained. (Quismorio, 2017, November 12)
c. BRI attract Chinese investments and tourists
The economic influence of China is deemed positive by some reports.
Official data shows Chinese foreign direct investment into Malaysia surged more than 700 percent in the past decade to 9.9 billion ringgit last year, a far bigger increase than any other source country… Chinese tourists are now the third-largest group of visitors to Malaysia after Singaporeans and Indonesians… For Chinese investors, Malaysia is a cheaper alternative to real-estate markets in
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lower entry cost for property and cultural ties that make food and language familiar to Chinese buyers. (BLOOMBERG, 2018, July 25)
Chinese tourists are valued because of the positive economic effects they can bring.
The Melaka Gateway is another venture by Chinese investors that will help spearhead the development of the tourism sector while the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex development drives global shipping and supply chain activities. (Sani, 2017, November 29)
The chief minister said the state was looking to further strengthen its bilateral ties with China through exchange of technology. At the same time, the
government will enhance connectivity in the state to boost tourism and attract more tourists from China among others. (Ogilvy, 2018, April 9)
Keeping Chinese investment coming to Malaysia is also stressed. It is often to see the argument that if BRI projects were deferred, canceled, Chinese investors will be in dilemma and discomfort.
As most Chinese companies believed the Barisan Nasional government of Najib would win the May 9 election, they are now caught in a dilemma….As the new Malaysia is chopping off mega projects, local infrastructure projects where Chinese firms have undertaken contracts or keen to participate may be in jeopardy. (Foon, 2018, June 3)
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latter would likely respond by barring its tourists from Malaysia and cease importing Malaysian palm oil should Malaysia cancel the ECRL project.
(Malaysiakini, 2018, May 11)
d. BRI help create jobs
Chinese investments are claimed to be beneficial for the local job market.
China is considering building an industrial park in the Philippines, promising to boost the local manufacturing sector and create more jobs as bilateral ties improve, according to Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua. (Canivel, 2017, February 27)
e. Chinese projects can even the economic, development gap
This argument is based on the fact that there is unbalanced development with ASEAN, China and other countries along the BRI. For example, the income gap (per capita median income) between Singapore and Myanmar is around 40 to one (The Straits Times, 2016, August 21). BRI is regarded as a way to even this wealth and development gap according to reports.
In Malaysia, ECRL, which aims to have a transportation ratio of 30 per cent passengers and 70 percent freight (Bernama, 2018 April 6), is seemed as a major tool to boost the development of its east coast.
(Former Transport Minister) Ong also said that the ECRL would also act as a catalyst for more aggressive economic growth for Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang and help close the economic gap between the states in the east coast and
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f. BRI reduces poverty
For some countries, accepting BRI seems to be a possible way to solve the problem of poverty.
Even though there are concerns that China may become too economically dominant, some poor countries see China as offering a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get out of perpetual poverty and under-development. (Foon via the Star, 2017, November 20)
Based on ASEAN reports, around 32 million people in Southeast Asia are living below the international poverty line, and they are mostly living in the Philippines and Indonesia (Buan, 2017, November 19). China is reported to solve this by enhancing infrastructure building.
China is willing to fulfill its duty as a responsible major country and engage more in cooperation on reducing poverty and promoting development. (People’s Daily via Manila Bulletin, 2017, May 14)
“China is ready to work even more closely with ASEAN countries to seek greater synergies between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, enhance infrastructure building and connectivity across the region,” said Xu Bu, the Permanent Representative of the Mission of China to ASEAN (Buan, 2017, November 19).
g. China offers opportunities and capital for joint development
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Some Philippine officials have been seeking joint development with China in the South China Sea.
“It is obvious as members of the Asean that today, with China, we must find ways and means to jointly develop the area’s hydrocarbon potentials to help lessen our common dependence on distant petroleum sources in the Middle East,” De Venecia said. (Corrales, 2017, May 14)
h. BRI helps countries embrace globalization, countering isolationism
China hosts on Sunday, May 14, a summit showcasing its ambitious drive to revive ancient Silk Road trade routes and lead a new era of globalization, just as Washington turns inward in favor of "America First" policies. (Rappler & AFP, 2017, May 12)
4.5.2 Economic Concern Frame
The economic concern frame contains the negative economic results of joining BRI, including high Chinese loans, job loss, weak Chinese economy and damage of local environment. In addition, this frame suggests that BRI only benefits Chinese, or the privilege.
a. Unrepayable Chinese loans
The concern of loans appears after governments participated in BRI projects.
Whether BRI projects are beneficial to the nation’s interests is a center of debate for Malaysia, which held its 14th general election in May 2017. The East Coast Rail Line
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(ECRL) project links the western and eastern coast of Malaysia. Officials have estimated the project would cost around US$19.4 billion in total (Beng, 2018 August 28). Before the election, the then opposition party, Pakatan Harapan, questioned the efficiency of ECRL.
“Even the west coast railway (KTM) is not making any profits and often needs to be bailed out by the government…In the East Coast (of Malaysia), there is a smaller population and if people want to travel to KL, they have a choice to use budget airlines. (Malaysiakini, February 7, 2018)
After becoming the Prime Minister in May 2018, Mahathir said ECRL is ‘not something we could afford’ and ‘it is not going to serve any purpose, it is not going to give us any returns’ (Reuters, 2018 May 27). He also criticized Najib and called that Chinese loans are unrepayable and unfair.
"Malaysia, in particular, had a leader at the time who was in love with big
"Malaysia, in particular, had a leader at the time who was in love with big