Reference News Network, September 10 report (text by Lu Youyi) In early September, the 2025 Global South Media Think Tank High-Level Forum was held in Kunming. During the forum, some foreign guests visited the old site of Southwest Associated University to learn about this history of upholding the flame of education during war. As a Chinese journalist accompanying them, I had a conversation with a South African journalist on the way.

On the way to the old site of Southwest Associated University, I was carrying a small toy - Labubu. A lady next to me immediately recognized it and laughed, saying her daughter had just sent her a photo of the same one. At that moment, the daily details across thousands of miles brought us into the same scene: mother and daughter, journalist and journalist.

During the 2025 Global South Media Think Tank High-Level Forum, some foreign participants came to Kunming and visited the old site of Southwest Associated University. I, as a Chinese journalist accompanying them for interviews, was also on the same vehicle. (Lu Youyi / Photo provided)

The lady introduced herself: Deidre Uren, Executive Editor of the Political News Department at South African Broadcasting Corporation, a South African journalist, a white woman. Behind these identities was a contradiction: once classified under the privileged skin color, but in her profession, she chose to closely document Mandela's later years. Uren said that Mandela only ruled for five years, leaving more a spirit than a complete system for the country. "He avoided civil war, upheld diversity, but the promise of education was not fully implemented."

When talking about today's challenges in South Africa, Uren spoke frankly: "We have not trained enough craftsmen, engineers, architects. After thirty years, all the problems are evident." In her view, this is short-sightedness in South African society: the government and people spend money on elections and consumption rather than schools. She added that in the early turbulent times of South Africa, there were also people who tried to preserve the flame of education, which reminded her of Southwest Associated University. Two different historical experiences on different continents echoed outside the car window.

Our conversation soon turned to family. Uren married a black teacher, and her husband took on the responsibility of raising the children. But when returning to her husband's hometown, she had to "play the role of a kind daughter-in-law" and wear traditional black clothing to fit local customs. "He would buy gifts in advance to remind me to behave well," she said with a smile.

Uren's mother, a traditional white woman, initially found it difficult to accept her marriage choice, but eventually learned to understand over time. These details intertwined the rifts of race and ethnicity within her.

"In South Africa, many still believe women should not spend too much time on their careers," she paused, then said, "but news requires sensitivity and delicacy; female journalists often see parts that others overlook."

As a female journalist, Uren was clear about what the intersection of gender and identity meant. "Sometimes, your identity determines how others see you, not your report," she said. "But the value of news is to break through these limitations."

Her gaze then shifted to the macro level. South Africa has abundant resources - diamonds, platinum, gold, coal, natural gas, and vast land, producing grapes and fruits. Uren said, "We sell raw materials and then buy back finished products at higher prices. Power shortages, industrial insufficiency, export dependence - this is our dilemma."

From September 7th to 8th, representatives of the 2025 Global South Media Think Tank High-Level Forum visited various places in Yunnan. (Xinhua News Agency photographer Peng Yikai / Photo taken)

In Uren's account, the connection between politics and the market was unusually clear. During the Trump era, the United States imposed a 30% tariff on South African fruits and wine, forcing them to seek new export markets. "We used to look only to the West; now we have no choice but to turn to the East. China needs agricultural products and markets, and we need cooperation. This is a realistic choice," she said.

She also mentioned that Chinese car manufacturers have already established themselves in South Africa and started producing traditional fuel vehicles. "We have insufficient power supply, so we cannot switch to electric vehicles immediately. But the market is here, and they can sell. For us, it is cheaper cars; for you, it is a market to maintain the transition period of industry."

Outside the car window, the old site of Southwest Associated University gradually appeared. It was a place where China preserved its education during the war. Uren's words again focused on education: "If a country does not cultivate people, even the most abundant resources will be exhausted."

I asked her what Mandela left behind. She thought for a long time and finally said, "Inclusion and reconciliation, coexistence of diversity."

The car stopped, the editor put away her phone, and the photo of Labubu was still on the screen. At this moment, history and reality intersected: the experience of South Africa and the history of China, the eyes of female journalists and the flame of education, all pointed to the same issue - how the Global South preserves its own flame and tells its future with its own voice amidst turmoil and competition.

On September 5th, representatives attending the 2025 Global South Media Think Tank High-Level Forum visited the Bai Cao Hall in the Bai Cao Village of Kunming City. (Xinhua News Agency photographer Chen Wei / Photo taken)

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7548403563546804782/

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