Telling Asia's Story
Mr. Crovitz, former executive vice president of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal, was editor and publisher of the REVIEW from 1992 to 1996. This article originally appeared in a commemorative 50th anniversary edition published in November 1996.
A Far Eastern economic review. In 1946, the very idea was radical. Few in Asia thought of themselves as living in a single, linked-together region with broad common interests. As for the economics, there simply was not much. People throughout the region hoped just to prevail against the brittle conditions left by the devastation of the Second World War. From a Hong Kong still roiled by years of wartime occupation to a China isolated in civil war to the rural poverty that stretched from Korea to Malaysia, who would have imagined that Asia would a half-century later by the economic envy of the world?
The founders of the FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW did have a vision of the possibilities. The mission statement of the inaugural issue of October 16, 1946, defined the magazine's role in telling Asia's story: “To analyze and interpret financial, commercial, and industrial developments; to collect economic news; and to present views and opinions with the intent to improve existing conditions.”
Despite the enormous challenges of the time, the mission statement concluded with the optimism of this prediction: “Given reasonably stable conditions for the future, a period of prosperity will certainly follow.” This act of faith has been more than justified over the past 50 years, and this commemorative issue celebrates both Asia's first regional publication and the region's remarkable postwar history. . . .
Outsiders sometimes refer to the Asian economic “miracle,” but as the reports in this issue make clear, the better explanation of how Asia grew into an economic powerhouse is the day-to-day efforts of people hoping to build a better life for themselves and for their children. Individuals of many nationalities, faiths and cultures are linked together by the ancient virtues of hard work, family, thrift and the willingness to take a risk. They have more than justified the vision of a Far East that needed the information published by a shared economic review. . . .
The history of the FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW is a reflection both of Asia's turbulent past and more recent rapid growth. The magazine's roots stretch back to prewar Shanghai, where the city's only English-language publication was a business fortnightly called Finance and Commerce, owned by a group of businessmen led by the Sassoon family. Its editor was Eric Halpern, a Jew from Vienna who had first come to Asia in 1932 with a commission from the League of Nations sent to investigate Japan's creation of Manchukuo (Manchuria). After the liberation of Shanghai from Japanese occupation but with civil war in the air, Halpern determined that Hong Kong would make the best location for a new business magazine.
