Strength Grows out of Weakness

At the turn of the spring and summer in 2000,Liu Changle,the chairman of Phoenix TV,invited Anthony Yuen,the famous current affairs commentator,to join theNewslineprogram on Phoenix InfoNews Channel as a guest anchor.

Commentary in a colloquial way

Before working on TV,Yuen had been a columnist of current affairs and working in journalism for more than two decades.He said that ever since he started writing column essays,the standard he has maintained for himself is to compose fluent and catchy text.“Overly ‘mouthful’ language is by no means a good way to report the news.I favor colloquial language,no matter if it is for a TV program,my column,or news writing.”However,while talking on TV,Yuen could not help stuttering and stumbling,and even couldn’t articulate some syllables in a clear manner,which sometimes made the viewers a little anxious.

Once,Yuen explained,“I spoke Cantonese as a kid,then I went to Taiwan and learned my Mandarin from a Sichuanese,which seemed a little help.My tongue seems to get knotted easily,like if R is followed by S,it simply will not turn.So,I try to speak slowly—sometimes to avoid getting stuck on two consecutive syllables.”Even so,Liu Changle did everything possible to win Yuen over because of his penetrating insight on current affairs and his profound familiarity with domestic and international politics.

Growing up in Taiwan,many of his childhood friends are now serving as influential figures in local political circles.Later,he worked in the American media community for many years and made friends with many highlevel political figures there.When he returned to Hong Kong,he became the chief editorial writer of many magazines such as Asia Week and Newsweek in the area of current affairs,which has enabled him to know more about Hong Kong.In addition,he was interested in the mainland as well.Many officials like watching his programs and were willing to share information with him during interviews.Therefore,Yuen was exposed to many exclusive news sources,which rendered him sharp observation and compelling insight into many events.

2000年春夏之交，鳳凰衛(wèi)視臺(tái)長(zhǎng)劉長(zhǎng)樂(lè)邀請(qǐng)著名時(shí)事評(píng)論家阮次山客串鳳凰衛(wèi)視《時(shí)事開(kāi)講》節(jié)目。

用很活潑的方式來(lái)講

從事新聞工作27年，撰寫(xiě)了20 多年的時(shí)政專欄，而后在電視上開(kāi)講時(shí)事。阮次山說(shuō)，他早期寫(xiě)專欄的時(shí)候，對(duì)自己就有一個(gè)嚴(yán)格的要求，就是文字必須朗朗上口，“繞口絕對(duì)不是好的新聞報(bào)道，口語(yǔ)化是我一貫的風(fēng)格，這一點(diǎn)電視、專欄和新聞寫(xiě)作沒(méi)有任何沖突”。然而，電視上的阮次山，說(shuō)話總是有那么一點(diǎn)結(jié)結(jié)巴巴、磕磕絆絆，一些音節(jié)怎么也說(shuō)不清楚，聽(tīng)得人心里著急。

阮次山說(shuō)：“從小說(shuō)廣東話，到了臺(tái)灣又跟著一個(gè)四川人學(xué)普通話，更是講不好。關(guān)鍵是我的舌頭會(huì)打結(jié)，R 和S 如果連在一起，舌頭便轉(zhuǎn)不過(guò)來(lái)。所以，有時(shí)候我講話會(huì)比較慢，避免念不出兩個(gè)連續(xù)的音。”

雖然這樣，劉長(zhǎng)樂(lè)卻看中了他在時(shí)政問(wèn)題上的洞察力和熟知?dú)W美、中國(guó)大陸及港臺(tái)情況的獨(dú)特經(jīng)歷，千方百計(jì)把他“挖”過(guò)來(lái)。

阮次山在臺(tái)灣長(zhǎng)大，年少時(shí)的不少朋友現(xiàn)在是臺(tái)灣政界的頂梁人物，他又在美國(guó)傳媒界摸爬滾打多年，政界有不少朋友，現(xiàn)在已進(jìn)入政府高層。回到香港之后，阮次山一直是《亞洲周刊》《新聞周刊》這些權(quán)威時(shí)事雜志的主筆，香港狀況也基本摸清，加上他對(duì)內(nèi)地一直非常感興趣，很多內(nèi)地官員喜歡看他的節(jié)目，見(jiàn)了面忍不住會(huì)主動(dòng)報(bào)料，因此，阮次山有很多渠道可以拿到別人不知道的消息，看事情的層次會(huì)更深一些。

經(jīng)不住劉長(zhǎng)樂(lè)三顧茅廬，阮次山終于成了世界上唯一的結(jié)結(jié)巴巴的電視主持人，卻由此幻化出一種別人找不到、學(xué)不會(huì)的獨(dú)特風(fēng)格：從容不迫，妙語(yǔ)迭出。劉長(zhǎng)樂(lè)說(shuō)，你照稿念就不自然了，你的特色就是結(jié)結(jié)巴巴！

Anthony Yuen,Chinese American editor and anchor on the Hong Kong-based television and media station Phoenix Television

At the repeated invitation of Liu,Yuen finally became a TV anchor,but he was the only TV host who suffered from shuttering and stuttering—perhaps in the world.This condition eventually enabled him to develop his own unique style of talking: slow and sure,full of witty words.Liu commented,“Reading out your manuscript is unnatural,stammering is your label!”

Yuen believes that serious political commentary on current affairs is too dull to attract viewers,so he presents it in a lively manner,filling it up with as much interesting information as possible.For example,he compared the political mentality of Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shuibian as “concubine mentality”; he explained the relationship between money and political interests in simple language,“We dare not to be the top dog,for you have to be very rich to be the top dog,otherwise when one brother asks for 20 million,and the other for 30 million,how can you afford it?”Who would doze off on such funny comments about current affairs?

Equal to powerful figures

Talk with World Leadersis a popular talk show hosted by Yuen to interview the most influential,prominent,and powerful politicians in the world,including Vladimir Putin,the tough tsar; Yasser Arafat,the “never yielding” leader; Colin Powell,the courageous and resolute Chair of the Federal Reserve; Megawati Sukarnoputri,the composed and sharp female president; and the like.

Different from Oriana Fallaci,the Italian journalist,and Mike Wallace,the American journalist,both of whom were good at the bold questions and forceful words,Yuen conducts most of his dialogues in a soft and delicate manner,quite similar to that of Chinese Tai Chi.

阮次山認(rèn)為時(shí)事政治評(píng)論很容易讓人打瞌睡，所以一直堅(jiān)持用很活潑的方式來(lái)講，盡可能地加入很多信息。比如他把李登輝、陳水扁的政治心態(tài)表述成“二奶心態(tài)”；描述金錢(qián)與政治利益的關(guān)系，用“我們不敢當(dāng)老大，當(dāng)老大是要錢(qián)的，這個(gè)小老弟開(kāi)口要2000 萬(wàn)，那個(gè)要3000 萬(wàn)，我們?cè)趺唇o得起”……這樣來(lái)評(píng)論時(shí)事政治，誰(shuí)還會(huì)打瞌睡？

與總統(tǒng)平起平坐

《風(fēng)云對(duì)話》是阮次山對(duì)國(guó)際風(fēng)云人物進(jìn)行專訪的名牌節(jié)目。專訪對(duì)象都是全球最關(guān)鍵、最前線、最敏感、權(quán)傾一時(shí)的政要，從性格堅(jiān)韌的普京到“誓不屈服”的阿拉法特，從果敢堅(jiān)毅的鮑威爾到沉著冷峻的梅加瓦蒂……

與意大利女記者法拉奇、美國(guó)記者華萊士的提問(wèn)尖銳、言辭潑辣相反，阮次山與世界政要的對(duì)話大多使用了中國(guó)太極以柔克剛的技巧。

“我在訪談中不喜歡咄咄逼人，越想問(wèn)敏感問(wèn)題，往往越要裝傻，故作詞不達(dá)意狀，這招百試不爽。各國(guó)政要都是‘心墻’極度厚實(shí)的人，‘破洞’效果不大。但這些政要的心墻畢竟都是肉做的，都有弱點(diǎn)，關(guān)鍵在于用鑰匙。”阮次山說(shuō)，那把鑰匙就是善解人意。

阮次山認(rèn)為：“我完全能做到在心理上和這些政要們平起平坐，不會(huì)說(shuō)因?yàn)閷?duì)面坐的是總統(tǒng)，我就矮他一截。”

他還說(shuō)：“電視采訪，不管多大的腕，面對(duì)攝像機(jī)也緊張。比如說(shuō)普京，一出來(lái)，我奇怪他臉這么白，原來(lái)是化的濃妝，英國(guó)首相布萊爾也是。80%的外國(guó)政要面對(duì)攝像機(jī)都會(huì)緊張，所以我和他們調(diào)整座位的時(shí)候就會(huì)開(kāi)玩笑。

“對(duì)于嚴(yán)肅的人，比如梅加瓦蒂，一進(jìn)門(mén)她的秘書(shū)就對(duì)我說(shuō)：‘你的時(shí)間只有15 分鐘。’我就叫翻譯開(kāi)始翻譯。我說(shuō)：‘夫人，你的樣子和你的相片相比漂亮多了。’哪個(gè)女人會(huì)拒絕這個(gè)問(wèn)題呢？她哈哈大笑。我說(shuō)：‘我居然可以看到如此璀璨的笑容。’笑話講完以后她就告訴秘書(shū)，讓辦公室的人全部出去，將軍、侍衛(wèi)部長(zhǎng)，在場(chǎng)的全部走開(kāi)。我知道我的訪談已成功一半了。梅加瓦蒂是印尼首任總統(tǒng)蘇加諾的大女兒。蘇加諾總統(tǒng)當(dāng)年被反對(duì)派趕下臺(tái)。我第一個(gè)問(wèn)題就問(wèn)：‘聽(tīng)說(shuō)你1996年上臺(tái)時(shí)，曾要求找回父親當(dāng)年的辦公桌，辦公室也裝修成當(dāng)年的樣子。那么當(dāng)你第一次坐在桌前，有沒(méi)有公主復(fù)仇記的感覺(jué)？’問(wèn)到梅加瓦蒂心里去了，她眼睛潮濕，心門(mén)為我敞開(kāi)了。訪談結(jié)束時(shí)已經(jīng)超時(shí)40 分鐘。”

每天“練功”7 小時(shí)

俄羅斯有位科學(xué)家說(shuō)，一個(gè)學(xué)者如果每天純工作時(shí)間達(dá)到6 小時(shí)（不算可怕的會(huì)議），他的一生必然碩果累累、著作等身。阮次山有著他那個(gè)時(shí)代知識(shí)分子共有的特點(diǎn)：勤勉。他每天工作7 小時(shí)，20年寫(xiě)稿不輟，連節(jié)假日都在思考問(wèn)題。怪不得在網(wǎng)上一搜索，阮次山名下的文章連篇累牘，如滔滔洪水，洶涌而來(lái)。

“I don’t like being pushy in interviews.The more I want to ask sensitive questions,the more I behave innocent and ignorant,like I don’t know how to express myself,which actually works every time.Political figures tend to be defensive by instinct,and trying to break into their defensive walls won’t achieve much.After all,they are normal men and women,who are weak in some aspects.So the most important thing is to find the right key,” Yuen emphasizes that the key lies in the fact that you shall put yourself in your interviewee’s shoes.

Yuen continued,“I consider myself equal to these powerful figures; facing a president does not mean I’m lower than him.”

He further said,“No matter how powerful he is,political leaders tend to be nervous in TV interviews.For example,when Putin came out,I was surprised at his white face,which turned out to be the heavy makeup.It was the same with Tony Blair,the Prime Minister of the UK.80% of my political interviewees get nervous in front of the camera,so I try to relax them by making jokes when we are adjusting our seats before the interview.

“In the case of Megawati,who’s quite silent and serious.Before we began our interview,her secretary spoke to me,‘you have only 15 minutes.’ So I started our conversation with a compliment with the help of a translator,‘Madam,you look prettier than that in the photo.’ No woman would reject such a compliment.

“She smiled,and I continued the praise,‘I’m so lucky to see your shining smile.’ After hearing it,she had her secretary,her generals,ministers of bodyguards,and others present leave the room.By then I knew that my interview had a successful beginning.

“Megawati is the eldest daughter of Sukarno,Indonesia’s first president,who was ousted by the opposition party.My first question was: ‘I heard that when you came to power in 1996,you brought your father’s desk back,and had the office renovated the same way as it was in your father’s time.So the first time you sat at the table,did you feel it was a princess’s revenge?” The question struck Megawati,whose eyes went wet and she began to lay bare her heart.Our interview lasted over 40 minutes.”

Keeping on learning for 7 hours a day

A Russian scientist once said that if a scholar could study for 6 hours a day (excluding the boring meetings),he was bound to be productive and fruitful.Anthony Yuen is exactly such a diligent scholar,as most intellectuals of his time did.He worked 7 hours a day,buried himself in writing for 20 years,and dwelt on big current issues even on holidays.No wonder you can easily find many of his articles when surfing his name online.He declared:“I spend 7 hours a day reading books and newspapers.I go to work at 9 am,have a couple of meetings,and then start reading and studying materials online,after which I do my live show at 12 pm.”

If it is not an emergency,he usually starts preparation in the afternoon the day before,and checks for the latest development of current issues the next morning.Yet when an unexpected event happens,he will immediately switch to the most current topic,which is not too difficult for him since he reads a lot and is always prepared.

As the saying goes,“The clean water in the ditch comes from the pure water at the source”;the scholar is always calm in the face of a challenge because he has sound knowledge in stock.Rich knowledge derives from intensive and extensive reading.While reading 15 Chinese newspapers every day,Yuen devotes himself to all the major English newspapers around the world online,ranging fromNew York Times,The Washington Post,andThe Wall Street Journal to The Times,Financial Times,andInternational Herald Tribune.Missing one newspaper would make him feel as though he is not getting enough information.With 1000 degrees of myopia,he has to be so close to the computer screen that his eyes seem glued to it.On top of all his reading,this energetic “l(fā)ittle old man” writes three weekly columns for Lianhe Zaobao,Hong Kong Economic Times,and Malaysia Sin Chew Daily,with a readership of about 1 million.

Reading and browsing newspapers,analyzing and organizing mountains of information,linking seemingly irrelevant things together on a daily basis—this is how Mr.Anthony Yuen produces his inspiring ideas and the rich content in his talk show and writing,which help viewers and readers develop a better awareness of this busy and overcrowded world.

(From501 Mad Men I,Huazhong University of Science and Technology Press.Translation: Lu Qiongyao)

他不無(wú)得意地說(shuō)：“我每天都花7 個(gè)小時(shí)看資料、看書(shū)和報(bào)紙。早上9 時(shí)上班，開(kāi)一兩個(gè)會(huì)，接著便上網(wǎng)找資料，中午12 點(diǎn)上現(xiàn)場(chǎng)節(jié)目。”

如果不是突發(fā)事件，通常在前一天下午，他便開(kāi)始準(zhǔn)備，第二天早上則查看是否有新的資料和進(jìn)展。碰上特別事件，他就必須馬上轉(zhuǎn)換評(píng)論話題。因?yàn)槠匠？吹降牟牧虾芏啵词雇蝗晦D(zhuǎn)換話題，也沒(méi)有太大困難。

渠水清澈，是因?yàn)樵搭^有活水；老神在在，是因?yàn)槎亲永镉胸洝＿@些貨色，全靠大量閱讀得來(lái)。他每天看15 份報(bào)紙，然后從網(wǎng)上看全世界大大小小國(guó)家主要的英文報(bào)紙。《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》、《華盛頓郵報(bào)》、《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》、《泰晤士報(bào)》、《金融時(shí)報(bào)》、《國(guó)際先驅(qū)論壇報(bào)》，都看一遍，要不然他就覺(jué)得信息量不夠。一個(gè)眼睛近視達(dá)到1000 度的人，恨不得貼到屏幕上去讀文章，令觀者為之動(dòng)容。即便如此，這個(gè)精力過(guò)人的“小老頭”每周還要給《聯(lián)合早報(bào)》、《香港經(jīng)濟(jì)日?qǐng)?bào)》以及馬來(lái)西亞《星洲日?qǐng)?bào)》寫(xiě)三篇專欄文章，讀者約有100 萬(wàn)人。

就這樣每天抽絲剝繭，那些看似不相關(guān)的事就從阮先生的口中、筆下汩汩流出，相映生輝，把個(gè)紛繁喧囂的紅塵俗世打理得井井有條，讓人豁然開(kāi)朗。

（摘自《501 個(gè)瘋子I》華中科技大學(xué)出版社）