Watching China Watching
悲歡離合
Benjamin Kang Lim 林洸耀, friend, accomplished journalist, quick-witted interlocutor, and an insightful analyst and commentator in the best tradition of China Watching passed away from acute pancreatitis on 21 May 2024.
We respectfully join his family, friends and colleagues in mourning this heartbreaking loss.
— Geremie R. Barmé
Editor, China Heritage
22 May 2024
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Journalist Benjamin Kang Lim, ‘towering figure’ in covering China, dies at age 65
Tan Dawn Wei
One of the longest-serving correspondents in China, Mr Benjamin Kang Lim died of an abdominal infection on the morning of May 21 in Beijing. He was 65.
During an illustrious journalism career spanning four decades, Mr Lim had broken some of the biggest stories out of China, including the death of paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in 1997 and the surprise rise of President Xi Jinping in 2007.
Mr Lim spent 27 years with news agency Reuters, including heading its Taipei and Beijing bureaus, before retiring in 2018. He came out of retirement in 2019 and was global affairs correspondent for The Straits Times, based in Beijing.
“Ben Lim left quite a sterling record. He was an intrepid reporter, multilingual and gregarious,” Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime FlorCruz, a long-time friend and news channel CNN’s former Beijing bureau chief, told ST.
“He was plugged in with good sources. A seasoned China analyst, he was good at providing depth and context to complex issues. He was also a kind and collegial peer, even towards his competitors. He was generous at sharing his reporting tips, especially with young reporters and newcomers.”
Mr Lim earned the trust of Chinese government officials, party cadres and entrepreneurs in a country where politics and business dealings are shrouded in secrecy by “becoming their friend first”, as he would say to younger correspondents.
He took note of his friends’ and sources’ birthdays and would unfailingly send greetings when the time came every year.
“China is a society built on relationships. This is a culture that has existed for thousands of years,” he had said in a previous interview when speaking about the importance of cultivating guanxi, or personal relationships.
The tip-off on Mr Deng in 1997 came from a good friend, whom Mr Lim had persuaded to send him a specific pager code signalling the Chinese leader’s death, he recounted in the interview.
ST editor Jaime Ho said: “I was fortunate to have been able to meet Ben in Beijing, soon after taking on this job. His reputation as an astute China watcher and the strength of his work had obviously preceded him. He will be deeply missed by the newsroom, and all those in our industry who call him a friend.”
Mr John Ruwitch, who worked with Mr Lim in the early 2000s at Reuters in Beijing, described him as a consummate newsman – “driven, principled, fair and, most of all, relentless in his pursuit of scoops”.
“For years, Ben’s stories shed light, like no one else could, on elite politics in China, helping the world understand a little better what was happening inside the proverbial black box,” said Mr Ruwitch, an international correspondent with America’s National Public Radio.
Born in Manila in 1959 to immigrant parents from the Chinese province of Fujian, Mr Lim decided to study Chinese in Taipei when he was 19, driven in part by his love for Chinese martial arts films. He later worked for Taiwan English-language paper The China Post and news agency Agence France-Presse, before joining Reuters in 1991.
Mr Lim had interviewed numerous Asian leaders who have since stepped down, including Chinese president Hu Jintao, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, Taiwan’s presidents Chen Shui-bian, Ma Ying-jeou and Tsai Ing-wen, and Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, as well as the late Philippine president Benigno Aquino III.
In 2016, he published a Chinese book, Taking China’s Pulse [把脈中國：對習近平的第一手觀察].
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China paid tribute to him as a “towering figure in China reporting and dear friend of the club”. It noted that Mr Lim broke the news in 2005 of the death of Mr Zhao Ziyang, the former Communist Party general secretary purged after the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown and put under house arrest until he died.
“Throughout this period, many China watchers and correspondents benefited greatly from his work and knowledge, whether directly or indirectly, as well as his support and encouragement,” said the club in a statement.
Mr Lim is survived by his wife and daughter.
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Source:
- Tan Dawn Wei, Journalist Benjamin Kang Lim, ‘towering figure’ in covering China, dies at age 65, The Straits Times, 21 May 2024
In remembrance: Benjamin Kang Lim
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China
May 21, 2024
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China deeply mourns the passing of Benjamin Kang Lim, a veteran journalist who covered Greater China for almost four decades.
Born in Manila, Ben started his career with Reuters, eventually serving as the agency’s bureau chief in both Taipei and Beijing. In 2005, he broke the news of the death of Zhao Ziyang, the former Communist Party general secretary purged after the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, and a decade later predicted the rise of Xi Jinping, when the current paramount leader was not on many China watchers’ radar.
In 2018, Ben left Reuters after 27 years, joining the Straits Times of Singapore, where he was a Global Affairs Correspondent. The winner of numerous awards, Ben interviewed multiple world leaders throughout his illustrious career, including Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, Taiwan Presidents Chen Shui-bian, Ma Ying-jeou and Tsai Ing-wen, and Philippine Presidents Fidel Ramos, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III.
Throughout this period, many China watchers and correspondents benefited greatly from his work and knowledge, whether directly or indirectly, as well as his support and encouragement.
Jaime FlorCruz, Ambassador of the Philippines to China and former CNN Beijing bureau chief:
“Ben Lim was one of a kind. He was an intrepid reporter, plugged in with a wide array of stories. He broke many big stories. He was a seasoned China analyst, adept at providing context to complex issues. He was also a collegial peer, generous at sharing his reporting tips, especially to young reporters and newcomers.”
The FCCC extends its condolences to Ben’s family and pays tribute to him as a towering figure in China reporting and dear friend of the club.
John Ruwitch, NPR international correspondent and former Reuters journalist:
“I worked closely with Ben in the early 2000s at Reuters in Beijing and stayed friends with him until the end. He was the consummate news man — driven, principled, fair, and most of all relentless in his pursuit of scoops. He set the standard, and I idolized him. I also learned a ton from him, in large part because he was exceedingly generous with advice and nuggets of wisdom. Ben’s source-building methods and dedication were legendary. He’d often come back from a few days of vacation, wave me over, and with his mischievous smile say: “Uhh, you know how many sources I met on holiday?” The answer was sometimes in the double digits. He knew all his sources birthdays, and their kids’ favorite sports. For years, Ben’s stories shed light, like no one else could, on elite politics in China, helping the world understand a little better what was happening inside the proverbial black box. His wry sense of humor made the workplace better. His criticism was always gentle — and always right. And his friendship was true. We lost a giant today.”
Ben Blanchard, Reuters Taipei bureau chief:
“Ben was a mentor to me ever since I joined Reuters as a (very young) reporter in early 2003 in Shanghai, and took me under his wing when I moved back to Beijing in 2005 to start covering politics and diplomacy. I learned so much under his guidance, from how to talk to Chinese officials to the intricacies of the workings of the Communist Party. Some of those lessons I still put into practice today, far from Beijing as I am now. Always generous with his knowledge and polite to a fault, he will be sorely missed.”
Bao Pu, publisher and editor of New Century Press:
“Ben’s most notable achievements include his intriguing scoops, revealing the underside of the CCP regime in the post-Mao era.”
Christopher Buckley, New York Times chief China correspondent:
“It was Ben who brought me to Reuters in Beijing, and it was Ben who taught me, as he taught so many others, so much about journalism and China, and especially the workings of the Communist Party. He had an abundance of tips and tricks. Like the time he beat the guards barring journalists from visiting Li Rui in his apartment by turning up well before the crack of dawn and sneaking in before they were on duty. When he was leaving, he told the startled guards that he’d walked in while they were on duty and offered, insistently, to speak to their boss to apologize. They let him walk away. But Ben’s greatest gift was his temperament – generous, genuine and truly caring. The only times I saw him truly upset and angry involved editors or, especially in those later years in Beijing, friends who were imprisoned. He did remember sources’ birthdays, but he remembered mine too, every year, well beyond when I cared to be reminded. It’s terrible that he left so suddenly, but Ben in quiet retirement was never going to happen. I hope his family can read these messages and know how much he was loved.”
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Source:
- Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China, In remembrance: Benjamin Kang Lim, 21 May 2024