Emily Feng Beijing correspondent at National Public Radio
Emily Feng Beijing correspondent at National Public Radio Feng joined NPR in February 2019. She roves around China, through its big cities and small villages, reporting on social trends as well as economic and political news coming out of Beijing. Feng contributes to NPR's newsmagazines, newscasts, podcasts, and digital platforms. From 2017 through 2019, Feng served as a foreign correspondent for the Financial Times. Based in Beijing, she covered a broad range of topics, including human rights, technology, and the environment. While in this position, Feng made four trips to Xinjiang under difficult reporting circumstances. During these trips, Feng reported extensively on China's detention and surveillance campaign in the western region of Xinjiang, was the first foreign reporter to uncover that China was separating Uighur children from their parents and sending them to state-run orphanages, and uncovered that China was introducing forced labor in Xinjiang's detention camps. Feng's reporting has also let her nerd out over semiconductors and drones, trek out to coal towns and steel mills, travel to environmental wastelands, and write about girl bands and art. Prior to her work with the Financial Times, Feng freelanced in Beijing, covering arts, culture, and business for such outlets as The New York Times, Foreign Policy, and The Economist. For her coverage of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Feng was shortlisted for the Amnesty Media Awards in February 2019 and won a Human Rights Press merit award for breaking news coverage that May. Feng also earned two spots on the October 2018 British Journalism Awards shortlists: Best Foreign Coverage for her work covering Xinjiang, and Young Journalist of the Year for overall reporting excellence. Feng graduated cum laude from Duke University with a dual B.A. degree from Duke's Sanford School in Asian and Middle Eastern studies and in public policy.
Laurie Chen China and Mongolia Correspondent at AFP
Laurie Chen China and Mongolia Correspondent at AFP Laurie is one of the Beijing correspondents for AFP, a French newswire that operates globally in several languages. Originally from the UK, she spent nearly three years in Hong Kong as a China reporter for the South China Morning Post before moving to China with AFP last year. While in Hong Kong, she covered the Hong Kong anti-extradition protests and the beginnings of the coronavirus outbreak, as well as various social issues in China. Since joining AFP, she has reported on human rights, activism, diplomacy and politics as well as breaking news.
David Rennie Beijing Bureau Chief at The Economist
David Rennie Beijing Bureau Chief at The Economist David Rennie is the Beijing bureau chief of The Economist and the author of its weekly “Chaguan” column on China. He has been a columnist at The Economist since 2007, writing, successively, its “Charlemagne”, “Bagehot” and “Lexington” columns. From 2007-10 he was the EU correspondent and “Charlemagne”, based in Brussels. From July 2010 to July 2012 he was British political editor and author of “Bagehot”,in London. In the summer of 2012 he moved to Washington DC. He was “Lexington” 2012-17, and Washington bureau chief 2013-2018. In May 2018 he moved to China as Beijing bureau chief, launching “Chaguan” in September of that year. Previously, he was on the foreign staff of the Daily Telegraph, with postings in Sydney (1998), Beijing (1998-2002), Washington DC (2002-05) and Brussels (2005-07). He has covered elections on four continents, one war, several riots, earthquakes, referendums and other disasters. He worked for the Daily Telegraph in London (1996-98), and the Evening Standard (1992-96). He is a contributing panelist on "1A", NPR’s daily news talk programme, based at WAMU in Washington DC.
Simon Webb Senior Vice President at Ogilvy
Simon Webb Senior Vice President at Ogilvy Simon Webb is a Senior Vice President at global communications consultancy Ogilvy. Based in Beijing since 2012, Simon is responsible for the development of Ogilvy’s issues and crisis capability globally and leads client work in China and across the region. He is an accomplished strategic communicator, researcher and campaigner with 20 years’ experience working in Europe, Australia and China. Simon has devised and delivered opinion-shifting campaigns for C-suite leaders and their companies across a range of sectors including automotive, healthcare, technology, communications, resources and aviation as well as for senior politicians and leaders in the not-for-profit sector. His degree is in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford.