Archive | Here the Radio-Canada office in Beijing: the last two decades (2001-2022)

From 1980 to 2022, Radio-Canada correspondents in the Beijing office analyzed several regions of the immense territory of China.

On November 2, 2022, CBC/Radio-Canada reluctantly announced the closure of its Beijing bureau after more than four decades of journalistic presence in China. In the 1980s and 1990s, our correspondents told us about the many changes experienced by Chinese society. The journalists who succeeded them in the 2000s and 2010s will offer us an equally curious and sharp look at this fascinating region of the world. Here is a selection of their reports.

Céline Galipeau (2001-2003)

In September 2001, it was the turn of journalist Céline Galipeau to take the helm of the Beijing bureau.

It is well known that the new correspondent has a great interest in condition of women, as she demonstrated in reports filmed in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Céline Galipeau was a correspondent in China from 2001 to 2003.

On June 21, 2002, the program Le Téléjournal/Le Point broadcast a moving report made in Yunnan province.

Céline Galipeau informs us about a Chinese tradition that is both ancient and cruel: the binding of women's feet.

In the village of Liuyi, elderly women tell the correspondent about the ordeal experienced when they were children.

Their mothers bound their feet to keep them tiny.

These mutilated feet are meant to attract potential husbands, because in pre-1949 China, women with small feet constituted a powerful sexual fantasy.

Do these women with atrophied feet feel regret, wonders Céline Galipeau?

When these women disappear, an ancestral custom that is incomprehensible these days will also vanish, concludes the correspondent.

Céline Galipeau leaves Beijing in 2003 and it is the journalist Patrick Brown, already present from 1990 to 1996, who again became CBC/Radio-Canada's correspondent in China until 2006.

Michel Cormier (2006-2010)

Journalist Michel Cormier took over from Patrick Brown in September 2006. During his tenure, he will be responsible for covering the Beijing Summer Olympics in August 2008.

Report by correspondent Michel Cormier on the impact of the coming of the Olympic Games in Beijing for the Chinese people.

On August 8, 2008, the day of the official opening ceremony, Michel Cormier presented a report on the impact of this sporting event on the lives of Chinese people.

For some families, the Olympic Games in Beijing have had the happy consequence that the Chinese authorities are changing their coal-fired heating systems to a more modern gas-powered device.

Michel Cormier notes in his report the immense pride that the Chinese feel in holding this international sporting event in their capital.

The correspondent underlines that the Olympics contribute to the opening of China, and the Chinese, to the world.

Catherine Mercier (2011-2013)

Journalist Catherine Mercier replaces Michel Cormier in 2011. The new correspondent has a serious trick up her sleeve. She speaks Mandarin.

Correspondent Catherine Mercier paints a portrait of Xi Jinping, future leader of the Chinese Communist Party.

One ​​year after his arrival in China , Catherine Mercier offers the Téléjournal of November 7, 2012 the portrait of the man who will become the new strong man of China: Vice-President Xi Jinping.

Catherine Mercier explores Xi Jinping's past by going to Shanxi. As a teenager during the Cultural Revolution, he was forced to work for seven years with the peasants of this province in order to be re-educated there.

If he remains relatively unknown, Xi Jinping will be able to count on the prestige of his second wife, Peng Liyuan, a singer who is a huge star in China.

Catherine Mercier concludes her report by saying that Xi Jinping is an enigma.< /p>

Yvan Côté (2013-2016)

Journalist Yvan Côté took over from Catherine Mercier at the end of 2013.

The new correspondent notes the difficult working conditions in this country where the government muzzles the press and society civil. Pollution in Beijing is also a very serious problem. 09_15_55_20_ARCHIVESWEB_0001_01.jpeg” media=”(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 99999px)”/>

Report by correspondent Yvan Côté on the China-Pakistan border on the “silk road” construction project.

May 31, 2016, Yvan Côté offers viewers from the Telejournal a report on the Chinese government's attempts to resuscitate the mythical Silk Road.

The government wants to revive this road to stimulate the economy of country and maintain its status as a major world power.

Eventually, reports Yvan Côté, the new silk roads will transport Chinese goods to the Mediterranean, 6000 kilometers from their starting point.

The sums committed to make this project a reality give vertigo, observes the correspondent.

Yvan Côté concludes that it is however too early to know if he will be successful or if he will turn into a white elephant.

Anyck Béraud (2016-2020)

Journalist Anyck Béraud succeeded Yvan Côté at the end of 2016.

Anyck Béraud was a correspondent in China from 2017 to 2020.

At Téléjournalfrom January 7, 2018, the correspondent takes us to visit a popular tourist attraction for Chinese people: the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge.

Nestled in a national park listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site , this 400-meter-long bridge attracts the admiration of tourists.

If several visitors are brave by walking or making antics on the glass plates that make up the bridge, others carefully avoid the latter.

Soon, the correspondent reveals, it will be possible to tightrope walk on the beams of the bridge.

Philippe Leblanc (2020-2022)

Journalist Philippe Leblanc is appointed China correspondent in 2020, replacing Anyck Béraud, as the COVID-19 pandemic hits China. Chinese authorities are responding by severely restricting activities and movement within the country.

For nearly a year and a half, Radio-Canada has been waiting for a visa for Philippe Leblanc. He obtained special permission for the Beijing Winter Olympics, but under strict conditions.

His only stay as a correspondent in China will therefore take place in February 2022.

Last report by the correspondent Philippe Leblanc in China who had been able to go to the territory in the context of the Beijing Olympic Games.

This report in the Téléjournal of 20 February 2022 on the closing of the Olympics, with the memorable performances of Canadian athletes, is the last of Radio-Canada on the Chinese continent.

Correspondent Philippe Leblanc was unable to stay there thereafter. Although begun in the fall of 2020, CBC/Radio-Canada's attempts to obtain a visa and accreditation to allow its journalistic team to work in China proved unsuccessful.

Faced with this impasse, CBC/Radio-Canada announced on November 2 the closure of its Beijing bureau after more than 40 years of presence in China.

The public broadcaster Canadian will now cover this sensitive region of the world from Taiwan.

Radio-Canada correspondents in China

• Don Murray (1980-1983)
• Jean-François Lépine (1983-1986)
• Tom Kennedy (1986-1988)
• George Tremel (1989-1990) )
• Patrick Brown (1990-1996 and 2003-2006)
• Raymond St-Pierre (1996-2001)
• Céline Galipeau (2001-2003)< /li>
• Michel Cormier (2006-2010)
• Catherine Mercier (2011-2013)
• Yvan Côté (2013-2016)
• Anyck Béraud (2016-2020)
• Philipp e Leblanc (2020-2022)

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