People’s Daily and UFOs: Every Day They Write the Book
This week, People’s Daily published a story about a photo taken October 14 in Kunming, China. The photographer, a man named Dong Rong, accidentally captured an image of what appears to be a UFO while taking timed exposures of the Kunming skyline at night.
The photo is mundane, a “light in the sky” at best.
But People’s Daily, as Pimp readers know, is the official news organ of the Communist Party in China, so while the photo may be no great shakes, the story about the photo is remarkable by Western standards for the matter-of-fact conclusion it draws about Rong’s photograph.
“The two objects were very clearly seen in the picture,” the reporter writes, “indicating they were stationary at that time, so it is very likely that they are UFOs.”
The possibility that the image could have been caused by searchlights is introduced and discarded elsewhere in the story. Lens type, camera model and the precise time of night that the photograph was taken are noted, as is the number of exposures made. UFO photos taken previously in the area are mentioned and a local UFO researcher, Zhang Yifang, is quoted.
“If there were more pictures,” Zhang says, “the direction and speed of the flying objects (could) be determined.”
It’s a style of reporting – thorough, respectful, unbiased - all too rarely applied to UFO news in the West.
Fair and balanced, the People’s Daily way
In an August 13 article titled “Expert: Most UFO incidents have reasonable explanations,” People’s Daily writes “The public should treat these kinds of events with a scientific attitude, independent judgment and rational analysis. It is better to objectively record various phenomena through taking photos and videos. Some events will be easy to explain if there is sufficient image data.”
The August 13 article goes on to say, “China currently has no official professional investigation agency for UFOs. Therefore, it is necessary to ask professional research agencies to investigate UFO events to eliminate people's doubts and fears. Some registered professional associations have been concerned with UFO phenomena for a long time and they possess certain observational knowledge and analysis and are more professional. In fact, most UFO events can be explained by rational reason through systematic investigation and comprehensive analysis.”
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