Speeches and Articles by Acting Consul General Christopher J. Marut

Acting Consul General Christopher J. Marut's Remarks
at the Third Annual Pulitzer Prize Winners' Workshop
November 2, 2009
Hong Kong Baptist University

Acting Consul General Christopher J. Marut

Thank you. President Ng, distinguished Pulitzer prize winners, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I am delighted, and deeply honored to join you today for the third annual Pulitzer Prize Winners' Workshop. Getting Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists together with journalists and students from Hong Kong and Mainland China is a wonderful idea. This workshop's great success over its brief history is a testament to Baptist University's far-sighted vision, the commitment of the Pulitzer winners to their profession, and the high esteem in which they are held.

I want to thank and congratulate the Hong Kong Baptist University for once again organizing this event. I would also like to recognize the Hong Kong Economic Journal for its generosity in funding the program since its inception. I especially appreciate the time, personal attention, and long-distance travel the Pulitzer Prize winners have committed to this workshop. Please join me in extending a warm hand of appreciation to our eminent Prize winners -- Jim Amoss, Julie Cart, Hank Klibanoff, Michael Parks, Jane Perlez, Connie Schultz, and Damon Winter.

It is not surprising that so many students and professionals participate in this event each year. The Pulitzer Prize is the world's premier journalism award, established by Joseph Pulitzer, who founded the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch. The first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded in 1917 and the list of famous recipients includes President John F. Kennedy, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner and Robert Frost, just to name a few. The Pulitzer winners who join us this year exemplify the qualities that the award seeks to recognize. Their work is distinguished, it is significant, it is influential, and it has benefited the public good.

A glance at the subject matter the prize winners have covered gives a sense of the gravity and scope of their reporting. It includes, among other things, the conflicts in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, and the struggle for civil rights and social justice in the United States and South Africa. I share your enthusiasm for the opportunity to hear these illustrious journalists discuss their experiences and the challenging themes of this year's workshop.

It is particularly fitting that this workshop occurs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China where the belief in freedom of the press is strongly rooted. Hong Kong is truly a special place where journalists and academics can freely and openly discuss and debate their practices, rights, and responsibilities; where no topic is off limits. Nevertheless, all of us, wherever we are, must carefully guard and protect this freedom. For as then-Senator Barack Obama said during a visit to his father's native Kenya in 2006, "Press freedom is like tending a garden, it is never done. It continually has to be nurtured and cultivated and the citizenry has to value it. It is one of those things that can slip away if we don't tend to it."

Freedom of the press is a cherished value and a source of strength. To quote Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in her statement on World Press Freedom Day this past May, "We live in a world where the free flow of information and ideas is a powerful force for progress. Independent print, broadcast, and online media outlets are more than sources of news and opinion. They also expose abuses of power, fight corruption, challenge assumptions, and provide constructive outlets for new ideas and dissent." This goes to the heart of why we are gathered here today -- to celebrate press freedom and to protect its future.

Let me stop here and extend my best wishes for what I know will be a productive, enjoyable and stimulating conference. And for our visitors, I hope you have a wonderful stay in this great city. Thank you very much.