"I believe anyway" was a label in Wang Yongping for a long time. In the past seven years, Wang Yongping, who was far away from the spotlight, chose to keep his mouth shut and wrote 200,000 words of documentary literature "Believe", but he refused to publish it all the time. Nowadays, Wang Yongping has gradually put down the burden of the past and become more and more open-minded. He claims that he will not take the phrase "I believe anyway" as a lifelong regret, and sincerely expresses his wish. "I hope that the spokesperson I trained will not have the experience of becoming a party again. After all, it is not a pleasant thing."
▲ Wang Yongping in the classroom (Source: Red Star News)
Red Star journalists were invited to attend Wang Yongping’s "news training class" and listen to his story about his mental journey after leaving the publishing platform.
In November 2015, Wang Yongping, who turned 60, announced his retirement.
In August, 2011, one month after the "723 bullet train accident", Wang Yongping, the former spokesperson and propaganda minister of the Ministry of Railways, was announced to be removed. Subsequently, he was appointed as the Chinese representative of the Railway Cooperation Organization and served as the vice chairman, and went to Warsaw, Poland to work and live in Europe for three years.
After retirement, he splashed ink and wrote poems and compositions every day, and even went to the park to sing with everyone. In addition, he is an adjunct professor at the Training College of Communication University of China, co-director of the Research Center for Spokesman of Communication University of China, and a researcher at the Crisis Communication Center of Sino-Singapore think tank, and often appears in training classes.
On the morning of April 11th, Wang Yongping attended a special training class for a system publicity business in China Communication University. Wang Yongping, wearing a jacket, transferred to the subway twice from his home near the West Railway Station and rushed to the Communication University campus near the East Fifth Ring Road.
There are no long guns and short guns in the class, and there are no angry words. For nearly three hours, from the time he stepped onto the podium to the end of the course, he kept a straight standing posture with a smile and no lecture notes, explaining the laws, principles, methods and skills of news release, and interspersed his own experience as a spokesperson.
Wang Yongping didn’t forget to start with himself. He started with his own words "I believe it anyway". In countless classes in the past few years, he has repeatedly mentioned this history that others may think is a scar as a lecture material.
"None of us are immortals, and it is forgivable to say a word or two wrong. However, it is unforgivable to dare to stand up, dare not take responsibility, and be silent, causing a greater crisis of public opinion. " Wang Yongping mentioned that he didn’t want other spokesmen to change from spokesmen to parties after him because of one or two words.
He also repeatedly mentioned that "the spokesman is speaking on behalf of the government. If false information is said, the account will be recorded on the government. Once it is revealed, it will be considered that the government is telling lies, and the losses caused are huge. Be sure to say something that is true and can stand the test of history. "
Wang Yongping, who said "I believe it anyway" seven years ago, was once the object of criticism.
In November 2011, when Wang Yongping left for Poland in a low-key way, only a few family members and colleagues saw him off, and he didn’t want to tell more friends. On the same day, Wang Yongping was the last to board the plane. At the last minute, he raised his arm to the motherland that was about to leave for a period of time and made an unspeakable farewell.
Wang Yongping is indifferent to the present, which was difficult to achieve just a few years ago. Later, his past experiences became his lecture materials, and he enjoyed his teacher status.
Last year, Wang Yongping won the most popular teacher award of the year of the National Media Literacy Training Program for Leading Cadres. This award, which was selected by the students themselves, was happily exposed in the circle of friends. He jokingly wrote: "There was no honor in the job, but I got a certificate when I stepped back." "This is a little red flower for children."
The days that were once shrouded in public opinion have long passed. Wang Yongping said: "The life now is very transparent, and it is the life I want to live."
Image source: Red Star News
Red Star News: What do you think is the biggest change from retiring as a spokesperson to retiring and then becoming a spokesperson trainer?
Wang YongpingThe biggest change is to return to calm and calm from the cusp of the wind. Different platform positioning, different clients and different requirements for me — — It takes constant learning and improvement to adapt. On the whole, I feel that I am still working hard to promote information disclosure, meet public needs and play the role of the media, so to some extent, the ultimate goal of the speaker and the lecturer is the same.
In fact, this is a process from the front to the back. In the past, when you were a spokesperson, you had to resist pressure from all sides in special situations. Now, without facing the media, the camera and the society, it has become indifferent. I am very satisfied with this situation. Take the interview as an example. Speaking on behalf of the government in the past was the overall situation and must be rigorous. Now I am interviewed by reporters occasionally, and I only talk about personal matters, which are insignificant and relatively free.
Red Star News: There are many labels on you now, including former speakers, poets, writers, calligraphers and teachers. Which of these labels is your favorite?
Wang Yongping: These labels were put on me by others. After retirement, life becomes simpler and richer. Writing poetry, composition, photography, singing and speaking are all my interests, enriching my life, and expressing my heart truly. I feel particularly satisfied. In fact, when I was a spokesperson in the past, I didn’t want everyone to pay attention to me, but I wanted to pay attention to the development and changes of the railway. When I can’t be understood by others, I will be very anxious and try my best to hope that everyone will understand.
Now that I talk and do things, I don’t have much thought and pressure. For example, if I want to write a poem, I will write it when I am inspired. As for whether I can send it or not, I don’t care so much about what happens after I send it. When writing calligraphy, you can stay indoors for a long time and enjoy yourself. Friends never refuse to ask for words. I also tell the truth in class. If I don’t believe it, I won’t tell others.
Red Star News: Last year, you were awarded the most popular teacher award of the National Leading Cadres Media Literacy Training Program. What do you think of this affirmation and honor? Why does this honor make you particularly happy?
▲ Wang Yongping was awarded the certificate of "Most Popular Teacher Award of the Year" (Source: Red Star News)
Wang Yongping:I haven’t paid much attention to fame and fortune in my life, and I haven’t won any rewards in my post in the past. But this time, China Communication University gave me this honor, and I was really happy. This is the students’ recognition of the teacher’s lecture and their true reflection. The lecture itself made me feel very full and satisfied, and the college gave me this surprise, which naturally made me very happy. I photographed the certificate and showed it off in my circle of friends. I got hundreds of praises in less than half an hour.
In fact, many teachers have also won this award, and they all speak better than me. Maybe everyone recognizes me, because I am more practical in class, familiar with the situation, have accumulated a lot of life, have both positive and negative experiences, and can speak frankly, which is easy to resonate with everyone emotionally. In addition, I never sit in lectures or take manuscripts, because I hope to communicate with my friends equally and naturally, and what I say comes from my heart.
Red Star News: Why do you want to be a teacher after retirement?
Wang Yongping:When I just retired, I still had misgivings about being a teacher, and I had a lingering fear. I don’t want to come out and become the focus again. I just want to live a quiet, poetic and quiet life. However, the leaders of the State Council Office, the Communication University of China and the Sino-Singapore think tank did work for me, saying that my experience was a rare treasure and should be used. So, I promised with a try. The first time I went to the Sino-Singapore news think tank training class, I talked about "the responsibility of the spokesperson", but I didn’t expect the effect to be unexpectedly good. The applause was warm, and some people even wrote poems on the spot and handed them to the podium to encourage me. After class, the students lined up to take photos with me … …
I have a feeling of being understood after being wronged and trusted after being hyped. So, I began to dispel my doubts and boldly speak out my real experience and deep thinking in the past. Not only let a real Wang Yongping stand in front of everyone, but also let my experience and lessons turn into everyone’s wealth.
Red Star News: You always take yourself as a negative example. In those days, you said, "Believe it or not, I believe it anyway", and even you took it as your own "shocking words" to warn other news spokespersons. What are your considerations? After all, it was a press conference that ended your spokesperson’s career.
Wang Yongping:I did say I was willing to be a negative teacher. Because in the past a long time, netizens have given me such a position, and many experts and professors have also analyzed me as a negative case in the teaching of news communication. I have to comply with everyone. What’s more, there were indeed many unsatisfactory things in that conference, and experts have taken me as an example until now. I can understand that it was an unavoidable thing in the process of building the news speech system, but now it is much more rational.
In any case, I hope that the spokesperson I have trained will not have the experience of the spokesperson becoming a party again. After all, it is not a pleasant thing. As for the sentence "I believe it anyway", more consideration should be given to the mood and context at that time, and there is no rule out the element of self-mockery.
Red Star News: Is this sentence "I believed it anyway" the biggest regret in your press conference career?
Wang Yongping:This sentence may accompany me all my life and become a real label. I’m afraid no sentence will be repeatedly interpreted by the media like this one, and even when someone mentions this sentence later, I am particularly sensitive. I actually stressed my tone at that time. I was very anxious. I hoped that everyone would believe me. I hoped that this incident would not have too much impact on the high-speed rail. The starting point was to maintain the high-speed rail. But later, this sentence was misinterpreted as unreasonable. At one time, I also regretted it and couldn’t figure it out. How could this sentence have such a great negative impact? At that time, I didn’t want to surf the Internet for half a year, and I was deliberately isolated. After years of precipitation, my mood gradually calmed down.
After I calmed down, I began to explain why I said this at that time and what the context was. Later, in fact, I didn’t feel much anymore, and occasionally I felt very manly for daring to stand up at that time. Objectively speaking, if this sentence is not said, it will be better for the press conference at that time, but I will not regard it as a lifelong regret.
Red Star News: You have written four books abroad. Why have only three books been published and one has never been published?
Wang Yongping:When I was abroad, I wrote four books, one was a collection of poems in the Kingdom of Poetry, the other was a collection of essays on the banks of the Vistula River, and the other was a documentary literature, Walking on the Eurasian Continental Bridge. The unpublished book was a documentary literature called Believe, which wrote 200,000 words and recorded the events around the press conference of "723 Wenzhou bullet train accident". The purpose of writing a book is to make it clear to the society about the real situation and my real thoughts at that time, but now everyone knows the truth, and I am also worried that it will cause hype again after publication. Besides, it is inevitable to involve some people and things, and it is not my original intention to cause others to be attacked. Don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you, so this manuscript has been at the bottom of the box.
Red Star News: Some people think that the relationship between a spokesperson and a reporter is like a contest. As a spokesperson who was "stumbled" because of a press conference and a reporter’s containment, what do you think of the relationship between a reporter and a spokesperson? What do you think of the reporter’s criticism of the spokesman?
Wang Yongping:When I was a spokesperson, I always regarded journalists as friends, and I also gained their support for railway work and my personal friendship. Even at that time, I was deeply moved by the rationality and sincerity of many journalists and friends. At that time, some reporters did say something too much. Afterwards, they also reflected and even apologized to me. They also made me respect.
It is their duty for journalists to find fault, which is different from deliberate hype and should be respected and accepted. Moreover, I think that nitpicking is also a kind of motivation, which can make the spokesman more serious and rigorous, and finally achieve impeccable and non-nitpicking. Dealing with the media is a science, and my advice to the students is: to deal with the media with full preparation, to deal with the media with sharp eyes, to deal with the media with a peaceful mind and to deal with the media with a good image.
Red Star News: As the first generation spokesperson of the central ministries, you were once called the golden generation. Now, many of the golden generation of that year have now withdrawn from the ranks of spokespersons. Nowadays, the media communication environment, especially the change of new media communication channels, makes today’s news spokesmen face more criticism and scrutiny from the media and the public. What media literacy do you think should be added to adapt to this change and how to deal with the "magnifying glass" under the network environment?
Wang Yongping:At that time, all the spokesmen retired and transferred, and a new generation of spokesmen is growing. It is an objective law of the development of things that talented people come out in the Jiangshan generation. As for whether the communication environment is more complicated now, it should be objectively analyzed. Today, with the rapid development of new media and self-media, the channels of communication are more diverse and the audience is more and more extensive, which is more challenging for the spokesman. On the whole, however, due to the attention from top to bottom, the spokesman system is more perfect, the public opinion environment is more optimized, the audience is more rational, and the quality of the spokesman himself is also improved on the basis of the practice of the predecessors, so it is more appropriate to call it the "golden age" of news speech at present.
Red Star News: After retirement, do you continue to pay attention to the performance of other spokespersons? What’s the difference between a client and a bystander?
Wang Yongping:Will pay attention, but not deliberately, just a habit that has been continued from the past career. Because my past experience has made me feel the same way, I can especially understand their pressure and difficulties. Anyone can find fault, but it may not be beneficial. I don’t want to criticize others. Even if I have to be a comment teacher at the simulation conference, I will pay special attention to my attitude and wording, lest my words hurt others. As for the difference between the parties and the bystanders, in my opinion, the parties bear a heavy burden and have to face the judgment of everyone; The onlookers are calm and carefree, and the pressure and responsibility of the two are not the same, and the feeling is of course different.
Red Star News: A few years ago, you said that you lacked research and understanding of new media. What kind of research conclusions do you have in the past few years of retirement?
Wang YongpingAt the beginning, when the new media came head-on, because of my lack of due sensitivity and mature experience, I was greatly uncomfortable on the publishing platform and public opinion field. This is a profound lesson. It should be noted that in the Internet age, the speed, breadth, intensity and complexity of information dissemination are unprecedented, and learning, understanding and using the Internet will inevitably become the basic qualities of modern managers, especially news spokespersons. When I was training spokesmen and government officials, I put forward five points of communication in the new media era: openness and transparency, timeliness and rapidity, objectivity and truthfulness, sincerity and firmness and self-confidence. It’s kind of a family statement. I hope that our generation of spokesmen can become a documentary book, which not only narrates the historical facts of ups and downs, but also brings people to think, to understand the course of a generation’s struggle and the hardships of a group, a cause and a country’s rise.
Source: Red Star News WeChat WeChat official account (ID:cdsbnc) Reporter: Zhao Qian
Andy Lau
Lin Jiadong, Xie Xian
Liu Yashe
Wang Danni
