Changing the China News Narrative

“China is a breeding ground for heroes,” Foreign Policy contributing editor Christina Larson said at a roundtable discussion at the University of California, Irvine hosted by The China Beat yesterday. Larson has done a lot of reporting on China’s environmental movement, where she has found great stories about a dynamic country. Environmentalists in China, she […]

NPR correspondence by email and me in print

The China Beat just ran an email interview I did with Louisa Lim, the dynamic Shanghai correspondent for National Public Radio, formerly of the BBC. My favorite part? When we arrived at their office, their faces fell. We sat around, drinking tea and waiting. In the next room, we could hear the government officials conferring […]

The best reporting on the Sichuan Earthquake you’ll never see

When I was at the Pusan International Film Festival in Korea, I went to a hotel on the beach to meet a documentary filmmaker from Beijing. I was very impressed by his film, Who Killed Our Children. Pan Jianlin was frank with his opinions and generous with his time. He chain smokes and makes self-depricating […]