Regret the Error » south china morning post

Lose a word, lose the meaning

Craig Silverman — Mon, 30 May 2011 14:00:08 +0000

In the story headlined “Rita Fan reignites Article 23 debate” on page C3 yesterday, we wrongly stated that former legislator Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai had insisted Article 23 of the Basic Law was “a monster as imagined by many”. What Fan actually said is that Article 23 is “not … a monster as imagined by many”. The error was introduced during the editing process.

Fuzzy numbers etc.

Craig Silverman — Thu, 26 May 2011 15:00:16 +0000

A chart accompanying “Fund bags HK$24b on back of market rise” on B1 yesterday incorrectly showed a profit of HK$2.9 billion in bond income from Hong Kong’s Exchange Fund in the first quarter of this year. It should have shown a loss of HK$2.9 billion.

A whole new world

Craig Silverman — Tue, 10 May 2011 12:00:07 +0000

On Page 4 of Young Post, May 3, it was incorrectly reported that Benjamin Allen of La Salle College was runner-up in the “world in debating” category. In fact, Benjamin came second in the world for debating.

Also, in the same article, it was reported that James Lo, of Diocesan Boys’ School, was the sole Hong Kong representative in the “interpretive reading” contest. In fact, James was the sole Hong Kong representative in the “interpretive reading” contest final.

South China Morning Post makes Obama/Osama error and flubs correction

Craig Silverman — Wed, 04 May 2011 12:39:03 +0000

The Obama/Osama errors keep rolling in. (Read my full collection here.) The South China Morning Post distinguished itself by making the mistake in a headline and then publishing an incorrect correction:

In a headline on page A2 yesterday, the US president’s first name was erroneously given instead of that of Osama bin Laden. We apologise for the error.

They meant last name:

Unfair and unfounded

Craig Silverman — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:00:35 +0000

In an article “Many accusations of spying but few facts as Karmapa accused of spying” published on February 9, a Tibetan political activist was reported as saying that Mr Shamarpa Rinpoche, a senior figure in the Karma Kagyu Buddhist sect, was trying to demonize Ogyen Trinley Dorje, who is recognised by the Dalai Lama as the 17th Karmarpa. In the same article, an unnamed observer was reported as saying that it was widely assumed but not proven that Mr Shamarpa Rinpoche had paid off various Indian newspapers and officials. These allegations against Mr Shamarpa Rinpoche are unfair and unfounded. Any inconvenience caused to Mr Shamarpa Rinpoche is much regretted.

A lack of control

Craig Silverman — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:00:48 +0000

The headline “Look ma, no steering – and no brakes” on page A6 yesterday, and the unattributed quote in the report that the headline was based on, were inaccurate. The prototype design of the electric tram does have brakes, and there are plans to install a computer-controlled steering system and more effective combo-brakes in the final model. The errors were introduced during the editing process, and we apologise for them. Link

Peace, love and get the hell out of here

Craig Silverman — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:00:51 +0000

A caption accompanying Saturday’s report, “Another yoga firm crashes owing customers thousands”, on page C1 erroneously described the man pictured as a Planet Yoga staff member trying to stop the media reporting on the yoga chain’s closure. He was, in fact, a customer of Planet Yoga. We apologise for the error.

Misplaced destruction

Craig Silverman — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:08:53 +0000

The report, “From Russia with love ? for the party”, on page 6 of the Sunday Morning Post on April 18 misquoted Lilia Yanark as saying the Communist Party had destroyed Russia rather than modernising it. It should have quoted her as saying, “Russian leaders have destroyed the Communist Party instead of modernising it”.

Corrected: A front page apology

Craig Silverman — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:00:35 +0000

A report from Bloomberg*:

The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong apologized on its front page for the incorrect use of Chinese characters for the name of Chinese President Hu Jintao.

â€œThe South China Morning Post sincerely apologizes for the Chinese name translation error for President Hu Jintao in yesterdayâ€™s newspaper,â€ the entire correction said.

Instead of the Chinese characters for Huâ€™s name, the English-language Post printed the characters for â€œHu Jia,â€ which is the same name of a prominent mainland activist serving a three-and-a-half year jail term for subversion, Radio Television Hong Kong said on its Web site …

Thanks, Steve and Bonny!

Correction April 20, 2010: This post originally and incorrectly called Bloomberg “Blomberg.” It has been corrected. Thanks, Daniel!

All, ahem, kings are alike

Craig Silverman — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:00:47 +0000

In the Sunday Morning Post two days ago, we reported the death of Malaysia’s former king Sultan Iskandar Ismail. However, the accompanying picture was of King Syed Sirajuddin, who ruled between 2001 and 2006 and who is still alive. We apologise for the error and any misunderstanding it caused.

Fuzzy numbers etc.

Craig Silverman — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:33 +0000

The story headlined “HIV screening kicks off on theatrical note” on page A4 on Wednesday wrongly stated that only 56 people in Hong Kong had developed Aids since 1984. There have been 1,086 cases.

This is not the composer you’re looking for

Craig Silverman — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:00:21 +0000

The story titled “He’s got the world on his strings” in C6 yesterday incorrectly referred to guitarist John Williams as the creator of the Star Wars and other movie scores. While the Australian musician is also a composer and arranger, the film scores are the work of the American John Williams. We apologise for the error.

Death by media

Craig Silverman — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:18 +0000

An article by Katie Lau which ran in yesterday’s Life section headlined “Divas celebrate a love that endures” incorrectly identified composer Joseph Koo Ka-fai as being deceased. The error is regretted. The celebrated musician is in fact very much alive.

Fuzzy numbers etc.

Craig Silverman — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:00:14 +0000

The headline, “Amnesty says hundreds killed in Gambian witch-hunts”, on a report on page A10 yesterday was inaccurate. The report quoted Amnesty International as saying hundreds of people had been kidnapped in witch-hunts in The Gambia. The report said at least two were known to have died. We regret the error.

Apology

Craig Silverman — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:00:33 +0000

The article “Unified standard seen linking mobile world” published yesterday incorrectly stated that telecommunications executive Craig Ehrlich is married to Christine Loh Kung-wai. Statements attributed to Mr Ehrlich that he used the term “wife” to describe his relationship with Ms Loh were in fact not what he said. We apologise for any embarrassment this has caused.