True to Myself--An Interview with Lu Keng

Lu Keng's Collection of Memories and Regrets has only been out for a month and is already in its sixth printing run. Lu is a legendary figure in journalism, and also a very approachable person. He has published news for which he might have been killed; he has done countless exclusive reports; and he has been sucked into politics through his journalism. He was in prison for 22 years, though you wouldn't know it by looking at him. After being freed, he went right back to being an aggressive journalist. The nearly 80-year-old Lu is still ready to go out in the field as a reporter at the drop of a hat.

As a journalist, Lu has been a model to all. As a person, his life has been exciting but not without regrettable choices. Through his sharp pen, the era that shaped him comes vividly to life before our eyes.

Q: Why did you begin writing your memoirs nine years aago? For you, which is more important, the events or the regrets?

A: When I first accepted the invitation to write my memoirs, only the record of events was discussed then. But when I began writing I felt that there have been many regrettable things in my life. I not only have debts in terms of relations with women, but have also done regrettable things as a journalist.

Take for example when I helped Xu Jiatun organize a press conference. Now how could a reporter organize a press conference? Or in the Hu Shih incident, it was equivalent to participating in a deception. When I interviewed Hu Yaobang, afterwards he asked me to change part of the text, but I didn't. In particular, the criticisms of Wang Zhen and Hu Qiaomu caused real problems for him. But it was I who said that stuff about Hu Qiaomu and those guys, not Hu Yaobang. He asked me to cut that part out, and of course I should have. Anyway, to express my own opinions in an interview with someone is very unprofessional.

Q: When I read your memoirs, the stories and people came to life on the page. How did you go about writing the book?

A: In fact it was very natural. Right from the start I decided to tell stories. So of course I began with my family and childhood. I have loved two things in life. One is journalism, the other is women. Thus when writing my thinking was still that of a journalist. Take for example the part about how my father asked me to go around borrowing money when I was a child. Why did I describe this so clearly and in such detail? It's because I feel that this experience may have been helpful to me in my later life in journalism. Think about it: Isn't it much easier to ask people for information than for money? How could any kind of reporting job be more difficult than asking strangers for money?

Q: Many people of the older generation who have known you say that you are the most capable handler of reporters they have ever met. How have you trained the reporters under you?

A: You have to be strict, and tough. My specialty in the old days was chewing people out. Journalism scholar Hsu Chia-shih, who used to work with me, had an essay in a commemorative collection published for the 60th anniversary of the Central Daily News in which he described how I used to train my reporters in the old days.

Yet, though I am demanding, I am a nice person. When reporters run into problems, I always help. And I have always personally gone to the front lines of reporting for major stories. Back in Nanjing I must have had 500-600 telephone numbers in my head. And I memorized car license plates, so I could make a quick judgment about which important people were showing up at a certain place. And I built up networks and connections. Anyway, the most important thing is to have a genuine interest in news. If you have an interest, you will figure out some way to do the job well.

Q: When President Lee Teng-hui went to the US a couple of years ago to visit his alma mater, you also went, and were a center of attention among reporters. Yet you don't mention this experience or Lee in the book even once. Why?

A: When I went to the US to report on President Lee's trip, it was for a Hong Kong newspaper. Though some entertaining things happened, there was nothing very important. Also, I am a visitor in Taiwan, and shouldn't say too much! Anyway, I do plenty of talking about Taiwan in magazine and newspaper articles.

But now that you mention Lee's trip, there were a few interesting things about covering it that I might mention for the benefit of journalists. I recall that the US was getting a lot of pressure from the PRC, and canceled Lee's press conference at the last minute. So former Government Information Office director-general Jason Hu organized an "accidental meeting" on a bridge on the Cornell campus between reporters and President Lee. When the appointed time arrived, the bridge was jammed with over 100 reporters, and President Lee couldn't cross. Hu asked everyone to retreat to the hillside nearby, and many people ran backward to take the high ground for the best pictures. But I was a little clever, and just moved back one small step at a time, so when I turned around I was right up front.

Before President Lee arrived, I was chatting with the US security people, and just as we were joking, President Lee and his accompanying group walked over. He saw me and called, "Old Lu, you're here too?" Grabbing the opportunity, I walked past the security people, telling them, "He is calling me." Then they recovered themselves and prevented anyone else from going by, so I was first. Some people said it had been arranged ahead of time, but it wasn't.

On this occasion I found that President Lee really pays attention to the media. After seeing me, he said. "I saw those three articles you wrote in Xin Bao. What did you come here for?" I said, "Only for you!" It was then that other reporters pointed their microphones over, and that's how the story started that President Lee spoke with me in English.

Mutual understanding is vital

Q: Lee's trip was a turning point in cross-strait relations. Later came the missile exercises during the presidential elections. What is your view of cross-strait relations?

A: Basically, I am optimistic. Lately things have changed again, and both sides are friendlier. I think this is related to the US reaffirming its one-China policy.

However, I think there is a big problem stemming from the long-term gulf between the two sides. I remember back in 1985, I went to Beijing and saw Deng Yingchao when she was head of Taiwan affairs for the Political Consultative Conference. And her first sentence to me was: "We don't understand Taiwan very well." Taiwan has the same problem with regard to the mainland. Most information in Taiwan about the PRC comes from the democracy movement or from the ROC Mainland Affairs Council. Neither of these is objective, so the media can't get real news. Lacking mutual understanding, it is easy to make misjudgments. There needs to be improvement in this area.

Q: In that case, how do you see Taiwan and its people? What do you think of the political and social situation in Taiwan? Having reported from China and the world, do you think we have an "island mentality"?

A: No, I don't think that. Taiwan wants to maintain the security and prosperity of its 21 million people, to have dignity, to build up Taiwan consciousness. These things should be done. But I think that Taiwan should not have an attachment to Japanese things. Looking at the big picture, this would not be of benefit to Taiwan.

I think the best thing would be for the two sides to keep the status quo, with politics unchanged and economic interaction of mutual benefit. Time is needed. The PRC has many serious structural political problems right now.

Q: Besides cross-strait relations, what other problems does Taiwan have?

A: Crime is the biggest challenge for the new cabinet. Premier-designate Siew has an economics background, but the crime problem is really affecting people's confidence.

Q: Lately self-regulation has been a big topic in Taiwan's media. Are reporters different now than in your youth?

A: Reporters used to be more thoughtful of others, and tried not to hurt others. Today reporters mostly only care if they are happy with the story they get. Regarding self-regulation, competition is so intense it's really worrying. Look at how the reporters crowded in among the police when they were pursuing Pai Hsiao-yen's killers; they hampered the police. They should have just chased down the criminals themselves!

Q: The Journalist said that your memoirs should be a reporter's handbook. What do you think of that?

A lifetime commitment

A: I hope so, naturally. To protect a source, I told Chiang Kai-shek "no" right to his face, risking death. Maybe reporters today can consult this sort of story for reference. A reporter in Hong Kong told me that my book reinvigorated him, inspiring him to stay in the business. I think, really, that being a reporter is a lifetime job. There is no job in which you can render service to so broad a segment of the public, and have such an impact. I hope journalists will stick to it, and become more professional.

Q: But living in an era different from the one of your youth, can we have the same role and outlook? Can reporters like you be produced today?

A: This is a matter of opportunity. Great events make for great roles. I was lucky in timing. But each era has its special features, and much is still worth reporting.

Q: You have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Western journalists at war, and in chasing down stories. Are they more professional and mature than our reporters?

A: Definitely. But don't feel bad. Journalism started in the West decades earlier than with us, so of course the operate on a much bigger scale and are more mature. But in an economically developed society with press freedoms, we will gradually catch up to the West. Many of the larger papers in Hong Kong today are very professional. Editors-in-chief make HK$2-3 million. So you can see that professional journalists are being increasingly valued by society.

Q: Can you explain why you wrote about all those personal affairs? Perhaps many people have done the same things, but few would openly admit it. What were you feeling and thinking as you wrote?

A: You are right. I know a lot of people, famous people, whose stories everybody knows. But they won't ever talk about them. I think most of them feel that, no matter what, this is a kind of moral deficiency. To keep face, it's better not to broach the subject. But I think differently. I feel that since I have been with women I like for a certain time, at some level the harm is already done, and I should have the courage to face up to it. Virtually no one in China has ever written a record of regrets. I wanted to break this taboo.

Q: So, in talking about these things you do not feel proud, but feel like you have wronged people?

A: Of course I have wronged people, especially my wife Yang Hsi-chen. I have been quite an ass, and have simply done nothing to repay her goodwill and have violated principles.

Q: What is your overall appraisal of yourself?

A: I said before that my life can be described in four words: "First, journalism, Second, women." To sum it all up I would say that I have been true to myself.

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You just have to mention news, and Lu Keng is off and running on his favorite topic. (photo by Pu Hua-chih)

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Party elder Yu You-jen was originally a journalist by profession, and a long-time associate of Lu. The photo shows Yu with reporter friends in Nanjing after Yu was defeated in his bid to become vice-president. (from left, Liu Wen-chu, Lu Keng, Pu Shao-fu, Yue Shu-jen; photo courtesy of Lu Keng)