This week, NüVoices host and co-founder Joanna Chiu speaks to Canadian journalist and author Jan Wong. 

Jan was one of very few foreigners able to travel to China during the Cultural Revolution where she talked herself into studying at Peking University before working as a news assistant in the New York Times’ first Beijing bureau. Back then, the “office” consisted of two rooms in the Peking Hotel, one for the journalist and one that Jan shared with the driver and an interpreter.

Jan Wong details how she then went on to hone her journalism skills at Columbia’s School of Journalism, eventually working as a business reporter for the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail. When an opportunity came up to work as a foreign correspondent at The Globe and Mail’s Beijing Bureau, Jan made it her mission to get the role. After landing the job, Jan describes what it was like reporting from China during the 1980s, a bubbling tension that eventually culminated in the Tiananmen Massacre which Jan not only reported on but witnessed from a hotel overlooking the square.

Joanna speaks to Jan about life as a student during the Cultural Revolution and her journey into journalism, as well as the advantages of being a Chinese-Canadian when reporting from China. They also delve into the current relations between China and Canada, and the alleged secret police stations that the CCP has been setting across Canada and the United States.

May is Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Canada and the United States! This month, we’re partnering with House of Anansi, Canada’s leading indie publisher. Throughout the month of May, 10% of book sales on HouseofAnansi.com will be donated to NüVoices. Check out their online shop to support independent publishing and our work too! Thank you so much to House of Anansi for partnering with us.