Not long ago, a group of reporters were sent by a newspaper to observe, day and night, some beggars in their city, in an attempt to identify whether they were real beggars, or, to put it more accurately, to expose their falsity. The money and energy spent in this activity brought "satisfactory" results - the beggars proved false! The media was quickly praised for the "truth" it had brought us.

Firstly, I fail to see any news value in such reports. Is the whole thing a "discovered truth" or an already known fact?

Secondly, I wonder if those "beggars" were so degraded as to deserve being exposed to public scrutiny without their knowledge?

Third, is it worth celebrating the cynicism directed against these "small potatoes"?

Starting a discussion of how to handle the problem of urban beggars or paupers is a fine role for the media to play, but I fail to see much point in taking such troubles only to identify who is a true beggar and who is not.

Certainly our journalists would be less energetic and interested in taking equally great troubles to uncover larger scandals, which we ordinary people have more concern about. Or if they do, in the current unfriendly situation, they seem more likely to have their hands tied - I mean tied in the real sense by some people and then getting beaten (see the recent reports of journalists being beaten in Nanjing).

Maybe that is why our media is more interested in discovering trivial matters.

Making those beggars targets was certainly unlikely to backfire so badly, because they are much more vulnerable than public officials or powerful institutions. We can talk about them in whatever way we prefer in the newspapers but they will never have a voice. But to focus on public officials is another story.

This is a skeptical age in which we seem to have a trust crisis. We no longer trust beggars or bishops, diplomas or diplomats, products or promises.

But this is also a trust-compulsory age in which we cannot move a step without making a minimum assumption that at least to some extent people are worthy of trust or have to be worth of being trusted. Think about the money we put into the stock market - we actually put it into unknown hands.

In fact, we are not quite as cynical as we say we are. And the better question is who deserves more doubt, the vulnerable or the powerful?

Skepticism seems to be of a healthier nature if it is, to a reasonable extent, directed at government or institutions, which are more complex and powerful than individuals.

That is why public officials should announce their income sources and put them under stricter public scrutiny. That is why we need law - to constantly remind the government of its duty and to help it function better and conform more to its originally intended purposes.

Credulity stops when a columnist emerges saying "weapons of mass destruction" are possibly "weapons of mass distortion". Better and stronger trust starts when the government or institution in question justifiably explains the matter to the citizens. In this sense, to doubt is to better trust.

The worst crisis of trust is not actually between citizens, but between citizens and their government and institutions. The remedy should be a wise one.

In terms of a more desirable role for the media, to better respond to people's real doubts, to help to build a dialogue, and to enhance better trust between citizens, government and itself seems to be far more worthy of effort than to go to great lengths to put beggars under the microscope and point to their falsity with excitement. It seems that this time the media should focus more on big figures.

Close

Today's Top News		Top Lifestyle News
+Official delegation sent to lobby Moscow on oil ( 2003-09-12) +Dalai Lama's US visit denounced ( 2003-09-12) +Commentary: China's diplomacy serves development ( 2003-09-12) +China, Germany agree to tighten ties ( 2003-09-12) +Comment: US should look before leap ( 2003-09-12)		+'Piercing the veil' of beggary ( 2003-09-12) +Flu and you ( 2003-09-12) +Going the distance ( 2003-09-12) +Art gala debuts in Beijing ( 2003-09-12) +The future is retro -with a dash of sport ( 2003-09-12)