A Tribute to John Alexander (1981-2007), by Koppel & Friends

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3997510&page=1

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6794388772

A recent clipping from the Cincinnati Enquirer:

MOUNT LOOKOUT - Large photos of John Alexander show a young man on the back of a motorcycle in China holding a camera. In another he's walking barefoot inside the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Just two moments in an adventure-filled life.

It's hard to believe, less than 10 years ago Alexander walked the halls of St. Xavier High School as a student.

Even harder to believe that he's no longer alive.

"He was destined for incredible things," said his mother, Maureen Alexander.

On Dec. 12, Alexander collapsed in Chongqing, China, while working as an associate producer for the cable TV program "Koppel on Discovery."

He would have been 27 last Thursday.

The family is still waiting for the cause of death from Chinese officials.

Saturday afternoon, friends, family and colleagues - including veteran newsman Ted Koppel and other crew members - celebrated Alexander's life at Jaspers in Mount Lookout, close to where he grew up.

"He made time for everyone, even though he was so busy," said Nick Gavin, Alexander's cousin. "This year he called me on my birthday from China. I had friends in New York that didn't even call to wish me happy birthday."

National Public Radio foreign correspondent Tom Gjelten said he and his wife, ABC correspondent Martha Raddatz, were instantly impressed with Alexander when he made his way to Washington, D.C. for an internship with ABC while he was a student at the University of Michigan.

"He was so young and alive and full of promise," Gjelten said. "Some things just blow you over, and losing John was like that. He could have been the next Peter Jennings."

Gjelten said when he learned that Alexander was interested in working for NPR, he pressured his bosses to hire the young man.

Alexander's career included work for the BBC, NPR and finally the Discovery Channel.

Koppel's assistant, Emily Stanitz, said the documentary on China - which had been Alexander's idea - is scheduled to air before the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics.

China had been just one of his interests. His friends say Alexander was a sponge for knowledge - reading into topics until he was an expert. He loved auto racing, music and photography. When his uncle went to retrieve his body from China, he said he was surprised to find more books than rticles of clothing.

"He had an infectious energy. Totally off the wall and rambunctious," said his girlfriend, Sonja Tanaka, who lives in Washington D.C. and traveled to Ohio for his funeral. "He was youthful, but so smart."

During the reception, Koppel introduced a video that he and his crew put together to honor Alexander.

The video began and viewers heard Koppel, the narrator: "John was a young man who embraced every friendship and took advantage of every opportunity, almost as if he knew his life would end much too soon."

BYLINE: Carrie Whitaker cwhitaker@enquirer.com

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[philpw99]

(Please read my posts from bottom to the top, as they are in reverse order.)

This is my last post here. I will not talk about this any further. I am just glad that I am a Chinese who lives in America. Sometimes freedom is only precious when you experience the other way.

My deepest condolence to John and his family. I really don't want to hurt them, but feel like they deserve a different view from someone who lived there and saw some bad things.

[philpw99]

And what do you think why those 2 people kneeling outside of the People's court?

I can almost imagine that, after John standing in those mobsters' way, they dragged him into a van, gave him a good beating, and found him dead. They knew they made a mess so they brought his body to the police and confessed. After some negotiation and money exchange, a deal is reached. One of two get slapped on the wrist. The police covered it up by burning the body immediately. It's the Chinese way.

[philpw99]

So just imagine that, when it came to John, when this kind of injustice took place in front of him, what will John do? And what will you do?

Think again, why nobody knows what happened to John? why the doc no mention of gangsters in China? Why there is no official explanation or medical reports to the family?

I can tell a cover-up when I see one. The local government is the master of cover-ups. How do you think they can level the old buildings and get the land?

[philpw99]

You think anyone will help those "nail house" people? No. Just as the documentary says, those "nail house" people were literary defending their house with their life. They were constantly being harassed by those special "guys" who handle this kind of business. It's not like the doc says, by paying them off. No, my friend, most of them were forced out by fear and violence. Anyone with a faint heart would have moved years ago.

[philpw99]

Then it just hit me. What if John happened to get involved in one of those intense conflicts? What would he have done?

I know that even those mobsters were not dumb enough to hit him while the camera was on. But what if the camera was not there, and John didn't back down?

Being a hero in China is a losing business. If you help an old grandma back on her feet, the next moment she accuses you of pushing her and asks for money.

[philpw99]

Why I think of that? Watch the documentary "The People's Republic of Capitalism". It hasn't mention any thing about those thugs taking down houses by force. It even went so far as to say those "nail house" benefit from the deals.

It made me wonder, why in this movie, while most of their points being truth, has such a huge ignorance of truth? Not a single clip of the thugs threatening to bulldoze down the house, no stand-offs. Are they really that lucky to miss it?

[philpw99]

Chinese government always overly broadcast good news and stifle bad news. If something was not showed up in Chinese news, and you know it happened, then you know that's something bad for the government, or their reputation.

Due to the lack of info, I can only specular that, John probably was killed by local mobsters, which was trying to drive those poor people out of their house. Those guys has connection to the local authorities.

[philpw99]

I just finished watch the documentary "The People's Republic of Capitalism". At the end I was shocked to see such a young man with bright future suddenly perish without any real answers.

I search the Google and Baidu. Not a single piece of news in Chinese, only the so-call "official" way of saying he "collapsed" while working. Knowing the way Chinese government handling things, I can smell something fishy there.

[koboldyu]

i watched the video again and again! i felt so sad for u,john! u r just my age,how come it happened?

[koboldyu]

rest in peace, john!