Another journalist is being told to leave...this time it's me

The following has been published nowhere else to date. It details the attempt of the Council of Pilung to have me thrown out of the country as a "persona non grata" based on the articles I have written for the Pacific Island Times about Chinese attempts to establish hotels and other development projects in Yap. I have written many more positive articles about the state but those that put a microscope on the Chinese and their local partners are the only ones they care about since they have exposed illegal activities and secret plans and agreements. How sad that the people of Yap are being taken for a ride by some of their ruthless neighbors, family members and leaders who should have their best interests at heart. Unfortunately, they only have their own selfish, greedy interests in mind.

April 2, 2019

The coconut wireless is busy with news about a letter that was delivered to Vincent Figir, Speaker of the Yap State Legislature, last week from the Council of Pilung.

The letter presents the Council’s demand that the governor communicate with the national leadership their request that an American citizen be thrown out of the country for influencing the government. The person in question writes articles and provides press releases for the Pacific Island Times and other regional media about news related to Yap. She is the only media correspondent currently providing regular news about the remote island.

Comprised of traditional leaders, the Council has the constitutional mandate to “perform functions which concern tradition and custom.” Duties include advising and making recommendations to the Governor and Legislature and the departments and offices of the Executive branch of the State Government, and resolving problems and assisting in matters concerning the municipalities and islands of the State.

The Council would benefit from reviewing Article IV of the FSM constitution that addresses the Declaration of Rights of the democratic government, the first section of which begins, “No law may deny or impair freedom of expression...” The Article is based on the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States supporting free speech.

In a democracy, it is the right of the people, whether citizens or foreigners, to make their views known publicly. This includes the press. Further, an American citizen cannot be thrown out of FSM unless he or she is convicted of an illegal act. The reporter in question has not done anything illegal and is protected by the Compact of Free Association which states that an American citizen has the right to live and work visa-free in the country. Inversely, this holds true for citizens of the FSM who live and work in the United States. They, too, have the right to freely present their points-of-view about the US government and its leaders, as well as about FSM.  In the Yapese culture, however, confrontation and freedom of expression are not encouraged.

The Council’s letter came on the heels of a briefing in the legislative chamber on March 25 by the newly re-elected, two-man delegation to the FSM Congress. Attending the briefing were elected and traditional leaders, cabinet members, department heads, staff members and a few who are none of the above. The reporter had received an invitation from the new director of the Department of Youth & Civic affairs, who also oversees the state’s public information office, a half hour before the briefing was scheduled to begin. They were planning to set a meeting date about a different topic.

Arriving after the start of the meeting, the reporter was not aware of the reason for the briefing but entered and quickly found an empty seat on the side of the chamber. A few minutes later, YSL Speaker Vincent Figir told a staff member to tell the reporter to leave the proceedings. The reporter left the meeting and took a seat in the outside waiting area where a loudspeaker was broadcasting the meeting as it was also being taped by one of the aides. The reporter listened as the Speaker, who is an elected senator, noted that he had asked the reporter to leave since there may be things discussed that should not be publicly reported on.

A few minutes later, the director of DY&CA exited the meeting and apologized to the reporter stating that he was unaware that it was a closed meeting. He then asked her to write an article about the meeting and said he would supply the audio tape. The article was intended as a brief recap to be published in the state’s weekly News Briefs newsletter that is distributed to anyone who opts into the mailing list and posted on the state’s Facebook page.  

As a freelance writer and marketing consultant, the reporter also provides freelance writing services, often pro bono, for various NGOs and government organizations in the state, and writes travel articles for media throughout the world aimed at potential visitors to the island. The majority of the articles published by the Pacific Island Times are about positive happenings in the areas of education, women’s issues, tourism, the state election and cultural events. However, a few that have been published over the past two years have reported on news related to development plans and illegal activities by the Chinese, alleged government corruption and other subjects of importance to the people of the state.

The reporter accepted the assignment from the director and, two days later, met with him to discuss the article, pick up the audio tape, and talk about other work that he needs help with in the area of overall communications.

However, the evening after the briefing, a Yap State senator had posted a comment on a public Facebook page attributing the position stated in the comment to the legislature. The problem was, it was not a position espoused by the legislature. The following day, the director was called into a meeting in which the Speaker expressed his upset at his fellow senator’s post. The DY&CA director made a point of noting that it was a senator who posted the controversial comment and not the reporter who had been thrown out of the briefing.

The reporter drafted the re-cap of the briefing, as requested, and presented it to the director for fact checking on Thursday, March 28. It was then included in the weekly News Briefs on Friday and sent to the state-owned radio station to be read on the news broadcast that evening. The intention was to then submit it to PIT for wider distribution.

The letter from the Council of Pilung appears to have arrived as the article was being readied for broadcast. An email was immediately sent by the DY&CA director telling the radio station manager and the News Briefs editor to destroy all copies of the article. It is not known if the Council members had read the article but, if they had, they would have found that it was in no way inflammatory or controversial. Rather, it provided a neutral re-cap of the information presented by the two congressmen about what is taking place at the national level as the leadership begins to turn over due to the recent election. In short, the kind of news that the public expects from a transparent and honest public sector.

However, it is surmised that there may be other factors at work behind the issuance of the letter by the Council. Chinese developers are known to have been working closely and privately with the Council and the prior state administration that lost the election in November 2018 to obtain land leases for hotels and other commercial properties.  The newly inaugurated state leaders were elected for their stance on transparency and honesty in government and their strong belief in the freedom and opportunity for all afforded by a democracy. In a recent open meeting between the governor, lt governor, senators and other state officials with the ambassador of China, the ambassador asked the governor about articles that had been written by the reporter in question.  As is commonly known, the Chinese government does not take kindly to the free press. The question is whether they are behind the letter that demands the reporter be tossed out of the country for reporting news that does not put a positive spin on Chinese promises that have been proven to be worthless in other islands and countries throughout Oceania and Asia. For the time being, the reporter, who prefers to more accurately be known as a freelance writer and marketing consultant after a career spanning 50 years as a senior marketing executive for some of the largest companies in the world, has no plans to leave. And the Pacific Island Times intends to continue publishing her stories about Yap.