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)視臺長劉長樂邀請著名時事評論家阮次山客串鳳凰衛(wèi)視《時事開講》節(jié)目。

用很活潑的方式來講

從事新聞工作27年，撰寫了20 多年的時政專欄，而后在電視上開講時事。阮次山說，他早期寫專欄的時候，對自己就有一個嚴格的要求，就是文字必須朗朗上口，“繞口絕對不是好的新聞報道，口語化是我一貫的風(fēng)格，這一點電視、專欄和新聞寫作沒有任何沖突”。然而，電視上的阮次山，說話總是有那么一點結(jié)結(jié)巴巴、磕磕絆絆，一些音節(jié)怎么也說不清楚，聽得人心里著急。

阮次山說：“從小說廣東話，到了臺灣又跟著一個四川人學(xué)普通話，更是講不好。關(guān)鍵是我的舌頭會打結(jié)，R 和S 如果連在一起，舌頭便轉(zhuǎn)不過來。所以，有時候我講話會比較慢，避免念不出兩個連續(xù)的音?！?/p>

雖然這樣，劉長樂卻看中了他在時政問題上的洞察力和熟知歐美、中國大陸及港臺情況的獨特經(jīng)歷，千方百計把他“挖”過來。

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

經(jīng)不住劉長樂三顧茅廬，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)不會的獨特風(fēng)格：從容不迫，妙語迭出。劉長樂說，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.

阮次山認為時事政治評論很容易讓人打瞌睡，所以一直堅持用很活潑的方式來講，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)老大是要錢的，這個小老弟開口要2000 萬，那個要3000 萬，我們怎么給得起”……這樣來評論時事政治，誰還會打瞌睡？

與總統(tǒng)平起平坐

《風(fēng)云對話》是阮次山對國際風(fēng)云人物進行專訪的名牌節(jié)目。專訪對象都是全球最關(guān)鍵、最前線、最敏感、權(quán)傾一時的政要，從性格堅韌的普京到“誓不屈服”的阿拉法特，從果敢堅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、美國記者華萊士的提問尖銳、言辭潑辣相反，阮次山與世界政要的對話大多使用了中國太極以柔克剛的技巧。

“我在訪談中不喜歡咄咄逼人，越想問敏感問題，往往越要裝傻，故作詞不達意狀，這招百試不爽。各國政要都是‘心墻’極度厚實的人，‘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，關(guān)鍵在于用鑰匙。”阮次山說，那把鑰匙就是善解人意。

阮次山認為：“我完全能做到在心理上和這些政要們平起平坐，不會說因為對面坐的是總統(tǒng)，我就矮他一截?！?/p>

他還說：“電視采訪，不管多大的腕，面對攝像機也緊張。比如說普京，一出來，我奇怪他臉這么白，原來是化的濃妝，英國首相布萊爾也是。80%的外國政要面對攝像機都會緊張，所以我和他們調(diào)整座位的時候就會開玩笑。

“對于嚴肅的人，比如梅加瓦蒂，一進門她的秘書就對我說：‘你的時間只有15 分鐘。’我就叫翻譯開始翻譯。我說：‘夫人，你的樣子和你的相片相比漂亮多了。’哪個女人會拒絕這個問題呢？她哈哈大笑。我說：‘我居然可以看到如此璀璨的笑容?！υ捴v完以后她就告訴秘書，讓辦公室的人全部出去，將軍、侍衛(wèi)部長，在場的全部走開。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)年被反對派趕下臺。我第一個問題就問：‘聽說你1996年上臺時，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，有沒有公主復(fù)仇記的感覺？’問到梅加瓦蒂心里去了，她眼睛潮濕，心門為我敞開了。訪談結(jié)束時已經(jīng)超時40 分鐘?！?/p>

每天“練功”7 小時

俄羅斯有位科學(xué)家說，一個學(xué)者如果每天純工作時間達到6 小時（不算可怕的會議），他的一生必然碩果累累、著作等身。阮次山有著他那個時代知識分子共有的特點：勤勉。他每天工作7 小時，20年寫稿不輟，連節(jié)假日都在思考問題。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。

“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)

他不無得意地說：“我每天都花7 個小時看資料、看書和報紙。早上9 時上班，開一兩個會，接著便上網(wǎng)找資料，中午12 點上現(xiàn)場節(jié)目?！?/p>

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

渠水清澈，是因為源頭有活水；老神在在，是因為肚子里有貨。這些貨色，全靠大量閱讀得來。他每天看15 份報紙，然后從網(wǎng)上看全世界大大小小國家主要的英文報紙?！都~約時報》、《華盛頓郵報》、《華爾街日報》、《泰晤士報》、《金融時報》、《國際先驅(qū)論壇報》，都看一遍，要不然他就覺得信息量不夠。一個眼睛近視達到1000 度的人，恨不得貼到屏幕上去讀文章，令觀者為之動容。即便如此，這個精力過人的“小老頭”每周還要給《聯(lián)合早報》、《香港經(jīng)濟日報》以及馬來西亞《星洲日報》寫三篇專欄文章，讀者約有100 萬人。

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，把個紛繁喧囂的紅塵俗世打理得井井有條，讓人豁然開朗。

（摘自《501 個瘋子I》華中科技大學(xué)出版社）