Description

Before attending the summit, America had not yet authorized a military response to the terrorist strikes. The conference did focus on globalization issues and new economic problems, but counterterrorism became an important topic.

When President George W. Bush arrived in Shanghai for the summit, he arranged to meet with delegations from China, Japan and South Korea for additional consultation on terrorism. Bush also encountered Russian President Vladimir Putin at the meetings and sought support in the fight against terrorist threats.

There were over 3,000 international journalists in Shanghai for the APEC meeting. The Chinese government spent large sums of money to upgrade the city’s hotels and infrastructure in order to present the best possible image of China to the world. With the appearance of the world’s media, China’s internet censors loosened their control over certain internet sites. They allowed access to western media outlets such as CNN, the BBC and the Washington Post.

I worked with John King at the Summit. This was his script and edit instructions for a news package about the results of the meeting that had occurred during the final day. After shooting a standup close (ending) for the story, I asked John to sign the script and I retained it when the edit process was complete.

I also have the Presidential Press Schedule given to the media covering the president on his trip to the APEC Summit in Shanghai. Known as the press “bible”, it contains the daily activities of the commander-in-chief and the details required to follow the events as they occur. The schedules are printed in advance of every major trip and distributed prior to departure.

Chinese paramount leader Jiang Zemin with President George W. Bush at the APEC Summit, Shanghai, China, Oct 19, 2001 (Credit: White House Photo/Eric Draper)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and American President George W. Bush at the APEC Summit in Tang jackets, Shanghai, China, Oct 21, 2001 (Credit: White House Photo/Eric Draper)