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Radio Documentary: Unseen China

 

‘Unseen China: Xiaoyuan’ is the first of a series of three programmes on modern China. In this remarkable, sparkling piece of radio documentary making, Peter White travelled with Xiaoyuan, a domestic worker in Beijing, along with her English employer, back to her village to see her children for the first time in two years.

 

 

The jury said:

“Along the way we get an extraordinarily vivid and colourful insight into a crucial aspect of modern China: urban immigration. From Xiaoyuan’s shanty town home in the slums of Beijing to the family village in Anhui Province, this documentary brings this issue into sharp focus through imaginative and subtle use of characters and sounds, the rich texture of the lives of its subjects. This was a truly memorable piece of radio journalism which threw light on the lives of ordinary people in a country which is much talked about but little known.”  

 

Peter White, Presenter of Unseen China, said:

"I was particularly thrilled to get this award because our declared aim when we put the series forward was to give a voice to people who had no real chance of being heard in their own country. The experience of doing the programmes reminded me yet again how much we journalists are dependent on the generosity of the people who allow us to tell their stories. I could only think, standing on the platform, of  Xiaoyuan in her little shanty house, probably smaller than the stage we were on and thinking it should really have been her up here."

 

Cheryl Gabriel, Producer said:

"I'd echo what Peter said and add that receiving this award is a great honour and I'm especially delighted for Xiaoyuan that her programme has been recognised in this way by the OWBT. Xiaoyuan told us after the recordings, that when she turned up with a BBC crew, her usually menial status in her village had risen considerably. When the village hears about this award, I hope her status goes through the roof."

 

 

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