Found in Translation

Broadcasting Global Politics
When laws are debated by elected representatives and leaders are elected
throughout the world, we rely largely on foreign correspondents to bring us
the news and put it into the proper context.
Rob Gifford, who began learning Mandarin Chinese in the UK and later in
China, is one of these journalists. You might recognize Rob’s name from his
many radio reports during his seven years as the China correspondent for
NPR; you may have read China Road, Rob’s book about a trip from the east
coast to the far west in China; or perhaps you’ve read his articles in the
Economist, for which he presently works as the China editor.
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After more than twenty years of working in China for some of the most

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prestigious international news organizations, Rob speaks fluent Chinese and
follows China closely. Yet, even he relies on professional translation and
interpretation when it comes to specialized topics.
For instance, in 2005 Rob conducted an interview with then-minister of
commerce, Bo Xilai. Though Rob approached the interview with the self-
assurance of a Chinese expert, he quickly realized that he had overstepped his
limits. In fact, his language repertoire simply did not include Minister Bo’s
high-level economic talk on trade wars and technical vocabulary on currency
evaluations. As Bo responded (in Chinese) to each new question with, “As I just
explained…” it became painfully clear that both sides had recognized the
problem. Fortunately, Rob had recorded the interview, so he could have his
assistant review and translate it again to ensure accurate reporting.
The nature of late-breaking news does not always make it easy for
journalists to get professional interpreters as quickly as they need them. Rob
recalls traveling through an area of Gansu in northern China that was formerly