News from the Philippines

The Board of Trustees of Jesuit Communications Foundation met in January to review the recent JesCom music video productions and its successful daily morning TV program. JesComˇs one-month elective course for EAPI participants and plans for renovation of JesCom facilities were also discussed. The latest communications course for Jesuit scholastics in the Juniorate was launched at this time. JesCom Philippines will host the JESCOMEAO meeting planned for Sept. 6-9, 2005. 30 Jesuits from the EAO Assistancy will participate.

News from Australia

Richard Leonard, SJ has been appointed Director of Catholic Church Television Australia. In his new job he will program Catholic television productions on the new cable and satellite community channel "Aurora." Richard will undoubtedly continue to write film reviews and teach classes in film and communications.

News from Taiwan

As it has often done in the past, Kuangchi Program Service is again acting as the cradle for a new TV station. The Taiwan Indigenous People's TV Channel uses KPS's studios and personnel to videotape native language and educational series. Meanwhile, KPS is producing the third of its ongoing educational series for Taiwan's 350,000 foreign brides broadcast twice daily seven days a week. KPS is also producing 90-second TV spots on Taiwanˇs people, culture, places, and accomplishments, at the rate of ten a month for 18 months, for broadcast over the worldwide Hung Guan TV network. Another new KPS video series on spiritual formation for Catholics in China is in the making; and the contract for a four-part KPS TV documentary on Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci has been signed with a major satellite TV station in China.

KPS was the main contact for several TV studios on the occasions of the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI and introduced Jesuits to comment on TV broadcasts of the funeral and election. Jerry Martinson was invited to two panel discussions hosted by China's Phoenix Satellite TV, broadcast live with panelists in Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong and Europe.

Kuangchi Cultural Group (formerly Kuangchi Press) is now firmly established in the KPS building. This facilitates cooperation between the two organizations. KPS and KCG are assisting each other on certain TV series and publications related to religion, life education, and language learning.

JESCOMEAO Secretariat

In February, JESCOMEAO Secretary Jerry Martinson and Special Assistant Augustine Loorthusamy participated a strategic planning meeting of the Asian Communications Network (ACN) in Bangkok. ACN organizes communications training workshops for seminary professors and religious formators throughout Asia, and conducts research projects and co-productions with personnel drawn from a multi-cultural, multi-religious pool of Asian communication professionals. Mr. John Hei You-lung, Director of the Carnegie Institute in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China participated in this meeting. For the first time a religious sister from Mainland China also joined the group. After the meeting, Jerry proceeded to Rome to give a presentation at a symposium on The Church and the Media organized by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.