The 1987 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts

RESPONSE of Diane Yun-Peng Ying

It is a great honor for me to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award, which is established in memory of one of the most respected Asian leaders in recent history.

Since this is the first time the Ramon Magsaysay Award in Journalism is given to a candidate from Taiwan, it is also an honor, I believe, shared by all my fellow journalists in Taiwan in general, and by my young colleagues at CommonWealth Magazine in particular.

The Award carries a great encouragement. It reconfirms my belief that journalism is a profession worth life-long devotion. Despite the long trying hours, and the constant self-doubt that is part of the search for the ever-so-elusive truth, a journalist nevertheless encounters a very challenging and fulfilling mission. Journalism, perhaps, is the best profession in the world, because a journalist is paid to learn, and life itself is a process of ceaseless learning.

The Award is also a great inspiration, because it calls attention to the often forgotten importance of using writing, reporting, and publishing as "a power for the public good."

When all over the world every day news is full of killings, starvation, crimes, disasters, political strives and trade wars, when "bad news" becomes the synonym of "news," it is time for journalists to reexamine our roles.

Must we be nothing more than a commercial tool where news is regarded as a product for sale, a source of entertainment, and a journalist's ultimate goal is to seek personal gain, fame, money and power?

Or can we, and should we, become a positive force in society, helping to build better understanding between the government and the people, to form consensus in a nation, and to foster hope among fellow human beings?

The Ramon Magsaysay Award serves as a great enlightenment.