Michigan Student Television: *take one! by Ruth Lttmann Daily Staff Writer The television cameras started to roll yesterday as Michigan Student Television (MSTV), a new student- run cable show, taped its first seg- ment of "Michigan Student Forum" in Schorling Auditorium. The first show tackles the abor- tion issue and will premiere on Feb. 11. It will air on cable channel nine as part of Community Access Tele- vision. At yesterday's taping, two pro- choice panelists debated two pro-life panelists, and subsequent audience paticipation ensued. "The purpose of MSTV is to provide an forum for student expres- sion," said LSA senior Joe Hart, the show's founder, who also served as moderator to last night's taping. "While the issue of abortion may divide us," Hart said, "a fair and ob- jective forum can serve to bring stu- dents and faculty together to under- stand opposing views." Though Hart requested that last * night's audience refrain from behav- ing unruly and using curse words, debate on such issues as fetal viabil- ity, government aid for abortions, and abortions for rape and incest vic- tims, pitted audience members and panelists against each other in lively discourse. LSA senior Marc Samuels, who works as creative producer for MSTV said, "It's interesting that when you're talking to men and women who believe the same thing, they can still come at it from differ- ent perspectives, as this segment of 'Michigan Student Forum' shows.,, Residential College junior Hill Hoegemeyer, who attended the tap- ing, said, "I enjoyed it, and I thought the moderating was fair." The taping lasted 45 minutes. LSA senior Ray Aldrich, the "productions end of MSTV," said, "we'll be editing the show, but we'll leave everything in, even the techni- cal difficulties - for objectivity's sake." At night's end, an exhausted Hart said, "I've been researching the abor- tion issue for the past week. I want to make sure the show will be effec- tive. I'll know if it will when I re- view the tape tomorrow." The next forum segment will deal with the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 2, 1990 - Page 5 Journalist speaks on freedom of press in Chinese society by Mark Katz Daily Minority Issues Reporter After "a certain number of deaths," China will achieve "fundamental change" in the next two decades, said Liu Binyan, a former journalist for The People's Daily in China. Liu, who was kicked off the pa- per and expelled from the Commu- nist party in 1987 after seven years as an investigative reporter, spoke to a packed crowd in Rackham Am- phitheater last night. "I say now that China is going to explode," he said. "The question is not whether it will happen or when it will happen, but what we will do after the explosion." Liu's speech, titled, "The Roles of the Chinese Mass Media Before, During and Since the June 4th Movement," focused on the history of government influence on and con- trol of the mass media, especially newspapers. During the years before the 1979 economic reforms, Chinese leader Mao Tse Tung experimented with freedom of the press, but quickly or- ganized to limit that freedom with an "anti-rightist" campaign. According to Liu, 30 percent of press members were persecuted as rightist, and numbers reached as high as 50 percent at some newspapers. After the 1979 reforms, there were no changes in governmental policies towards the press, but the increased efforts of journalists gradu- ally established more unofficial free- dom for the media. Increased popular dissatisfaction with the party influenced reporters to become more critical in their stories, yet the government continued to censor journalists. "Whatever it is that the people really want to read, that's what the (Communist) party is going to be opposed to," Liu said. "Practically every piece I would write would end up offending some- one." Liu cited six factors as causes leading up to the protests and hunger strike of April to June, 1989: a Chi- nese population of 1.1 billion for which the Chinese government could not accommodate, a bloating of the I bureaucracy, an educational crisis, economic problems, a higher crime rate, and increased prostitution. A turning point in government censorship of Liu's former newspa- per, The People's Daily, came in April, when the paper printed an edi- torial attacking the protesting stu- dents. "As far as we know, everyone on the staff opposed the editorial," he said. During the hunger strike in May, one of the students' main demands was the retraction of this editorial, which, after two staff meetings, "very nearly happened." However, with the government's current policy restricting the press, no one will write for the paper. "We have eight pages that we can't fill.. for the first time in history," said Liu. Liu said that although he has lived in China for 64 years during five different periods of political rule, he has never seen a situation like today, "where China is so close to exploding." Liu Binyan discusses the history of governmental control of the media last night at a symposium on America and China mass media in Rackham Amphitheater. European leaders back Bush on troop cutbacks LONDON (AP) - Western Eu- ropean leaders yesterday supported the U.S. proposal for significant new troop withdrawals from Europe but, amid hints of anxiety, stressed they want a continued American pres- ence. Britain said it hoped this was the last reduction planned by Washing- ton. The soviet Union welcomed as a sign that "things are changing for the better" the proposals by President Bush to cut troop levels in central Europe to 195,000 for each super-. power-below the 275,000 being ne- gotiated at talks in Vienna. But Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesperson Gennady Gerasimov complained the plan did not go far enough, adding, "We must continue to have as our goal no foreign troops on foreign soil." Some analysts said the Bush plan signaled the beginning of the final withdrawal of American troops from Western Europe - dreaded by many of the U.S. allies in NATO - as well as the departure of all the Soviets. "I personally would be surprised if the Soviets have anything like 195,000 soldiers left in East Ger- many within the next 2 to 3 years," said Francois Heisbourg, director of the London-based Institute of Strategic Studies. In London, Prime Minister Mar- garet Thatcher said Britain attached "great importance to President Bush's assurance that the new figure will be a floor and that no more re- ductions are envisaged." Thatcher aides said that Bush telephoned her Saturday to discuss the proposal, and "we indicated our support." Bush sent two senior aides to put this plan to the leaders of the four major Western European power., Britain, France, West Germany and Italy. The United States has 305,000 troops in central Europe, and the So- viet Union has 565,000. Another 30,000 U.S. troops in Britain and southern Europe are excluded from the Bush proposal. West Germany, where most of the U.S. troops are deployed, hailed the proposal. Defense Minister Ger- hard Stoltenbrg called it "a balanced combination of disarmament policy and unequivocal recognition of the West's defense readiness and al- liance solidarity." West German enthusiasm for troop pullouts by both sides reflected eagerness for unifications with East Germany, where 380,000 of the So- viet troops on foreign soil are sta- tioned. Two other East bloc nations, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, have demanded that the Soviet forces leave their soil. Other European NATO allies are concerned about being dominated by a powerful, single German state. The fears are heightened on a continent that was overrun by Nazi Germany in World War II. They are also worried about the United States detaching itself from Europe as the Soviet military threat diminishes with the collapse of a string of Communist governments in 1989. Belgium and the Netherlands, however, have said they are study- ing the possibility of withdrawing their forces from West Germany be- cause of the diminished Soviet threat. Read Alex About Town in every .4 TROOPS Continued from Page 1 considering relaxing U.S. defenses, even though Moscow is reducing its military spending and is unlikely to initiate an attack on NATO territory. "The Soviet Union remains the only nation on Earth capable of de- stroying the United States," Cheney said, adding that even if all Soviet troops leave Eastern Europe, Moscow would retain its geographic advantage in the event of European crisis. Senator John Warner of Virginia, the ranking Republican on the committee, sought and received an assurance from Cheney that the ad- ministration would not consider go- ing beyond Bush's latest troop-cut proposal in the foreseeable future. "This is the worst possible time to contemplate changes in strategy," Warner said. * Resume Packages " Quality Thesis Copies * Course Packets " Fax Service * Term Paper Copies . Collating/Binding " Passport Photos * Color Copies I The University of Michigan SCHOOL OF MUSIC EARN $50 ECZEMA The University of Michigan Department of Dermatology is seeking volunteers to test new therapies for eczema-... Office visits and medications are free to eli- gible participants. For further information please call ... 936-4070 kinko's the copy center r m m m m m m m m m m m m 20 % Off FAX Service I Bring this coupon into a participating Kinko's Copy Center and receive $2.00 off' on a set of regularly priced Passport Photos. No appointment necessary. Not valid with any other offer. One coupon per customer. Good through April 31, 19901 Sun. Feb. 4 Mon. Feb. 5 Javanese Gamelan Susan Pratt Walton, Director Music and dance from Java Rackham Auditorium, 2 PM Composers Forum Recital Hall, School of Music, 8 PM I I I Open 24 Hours 540 E. Liberty 761-4539 Open 7 Days Michigan Union 662-1222 Open24Hours 1220 S. 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