Publications
My reporting goes beyond the headlines to show how business, politics, and energy infrastructure shape ordinary people’s lives and the environment. This page brings together a selection of my published work. (Scroll down for my work for The People’s Map and earlier publications.)
Select Features and Analyses, 2021 - 2022
As an independent journalist, I worked across news outlets to widen reach. I was invited to share my insights at leading Asian and European universities and think tanks, and interviewed by Asia Undercovered (English/Bahasa Indonesia) and IJNet (English/Français).
Can Vietnam materialise its 2050 carbon neutrality pledge? [2050年前碳中和，越南能兑现承诺吗？] Caijing Eleven, 26 June 2022 [The article was also printed on Caijing Magazine.]
After COP26 pledge, can Vietnam revive flagging wind, solar industries to transition to clean energy? South China Morning Post, 8 May 2022 [The article was also printed on This Week In Asia magazine.]
China’s pledge to stop building overseas coal plants leaves Asian countries with more questions than answers South China Morning Post, 9 October 2021 [The article was also printed as a cover story of the October 10-16 issue of This Week in Asia magazine.]
China’s clampdown on new coal plants will hit these Asian countries hardest South China Morning Post, 9 October 2021 [The article was also printed as a cover story of the October 10-16 issue of This Week in Asia magazine; cited by an analysis published by The People’s Map of Global China]
Chinese citizens’ arduous journey from northern Myanmar back to their hometowns: hit by the order to return and the pandemic, people are selling off properties and waiting in long queues; many cities in Wa State are nearly empty [缅北中国人返乡难：受劝返令和疫情夹击，人们抛售家产、苦等摇号，佤邦多地几近空城] Phoenix Weekly, 29 July 2021 [Co-authorship with Plato Cheng; the original link has been censored by the publishing platform, but a copy can be found on Matters, a decentralised content platform based on blockchain technology.]
Chinese crackdown on online fraud forces citizens to leave Myanmar’s ‘Little China’ South China Morning Post, 18 July 2021 [Co-authorship with Plato Cheng; the article was also printed on This Week In Asia magazine; quotes, estimates, and narratives were cited by The Irrawaddy, a prominent investigative news outlet in Myanmar, in a follow-up story.]
Are formal interactions with China helping legitimise Myanmar’s junta in the eyes of the world? South China Morning Post, 10 June 2021
Nearly four months after the coup, Myanmar entrepreneurs struggle to survive and some technology professionals have moved overseas [军人夺权近四个月，缅甸企业家艰难求生，科技人才移居海外] Phoenix Weekly, 26 May 2021
Myanmar's foreign investors in dilemma, multinational companies under strict scrutiny, effectiveness of Western sanctions worrying [缅甸外资进退维谷，跨国企业受到严格审视，西方制裁效果堪忧] Phoenix Weekly, 7 May 2021
Amid continued unrest, Myanmar has seen an exodus of expatriates and Chinese-owned factories fear losing orders [持续动乱之下，缅甸大批外籍人士撤离，中资工厂担心订单没着落] Phoenix Weekly, 7 May 2021
No cash, no internet and safety fears: Myanmar entrepreneurs struggle to stay afloat two months after coup South China Morning Post, 23 April 2021 [The article was also printed on the newspaper and This Week In Asia magazine.]
Myanmar crisis: leave or stay? Taiwan, Hong Kong expats among the foreigners counting the cost of doing business South China Morning Post, 11 April 2021 [The article was also printed on This Week In Asia magazine.]
Ethnic minority groups in Myanmar protests: Once ‘bullied everywhere’, why did the ethnic Chinese participate in demonstrations? [动荡中的缅甸华人：曾经“走到哪都被欺负”，为何参与示威游行？] Phoenix Weekly, 17 March 2021
Myanmar coup: from Chinese to Christian to Buddhist, most people of different faiths and ethnic groups unite to defy junta South China Morning Post, 6 March 2021 [The article was also printed on This Week In Asia magazine.]
Why is it challenging to develop renewable energy projects in equatorial nation Indonesia? [赤道岛国印尼为何难推可再生？] Energy Observer, 24 February 2021 [The article was also printed on the February 2021 issue of the Energy Observer magazine.]
With inspiration from Hong Kong and Thailand, Myanmar’s Generation Z usher the Spring Revolution [從香港和泰國抗議者獲得靈感，緬甸Z世代帶動春天革命] The Reporter, 24 February 2021 [Part of the ‘Myanmar Upheavals: Election, Coup, and Resistance’ series that won the 2021 Vivian Wu Journalism Award in International Reporting]
Myanmar people vs the junta: Generation Z leads the charge with inspiration from protesters in Hong Kong, Thailand South China Morning Post, 23 February 2021 [The article was also printed on the newspaper on 23 February 2021.]
After coup, Myanmar people inside the country and overseas initiate civil disobedience and self-help movements [緬甸政變後，海內外緬人如何展開不服從運動、自力救濟？] The Reporter, 9 February 2021 [Part of the ‘Myanmar Upheavals: Election, Coup, and Resistance’ series that won the 2021 Vivian Wu Journalism Award in International Reporting]
‘Every day is a nightmare’: Inside Myanmar, fears and shattered dreams as military clamps down on dissent South China Morning Post, 7 February 2021
Indonesia’s clean energy dream: a victim of coronavirus, or politics? South China Morning Post, 24 January 2021 [Co-authorship with Ika Krismantari; The article was also printed on This Week In Asia magazine and republished in Indonesian by The Conversation Indonesia.]
Writings for The People’s Map of Global China and Global China Pulse, 2020 - 2023
In 2020, I joined The People’s Map of Global China, a website and community tracking China’s Belt and Road initiative, as its first writer. The Map, launched in 2021, is supported by Made in China Journal and four other academic institutions in Australia, Hong Kong, and Sweden. My profiles have become resources for understanding China–Myanmar relations. I also contributed news briefs to the Map’s affiliated biannual publication Global China Pulse, published by Lund University, focusing on China’s international engagements in their various manifestations.
Myanmar Country Profile [Including history, public and exclusive data, controversies, and key news and academic sources of the bilateral relations]
Myanmar–China Oil and Gas Pipelines (Myanmar Section) Profile [Cited by a paper published by Global China Pulse]
Myitsone Hydropower Dam Profile [Cited by a paper published by Global China Pulse]
Letpadaung Copper Mine Profile [Cited by a paper published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and another by Global China Pulse]
‘Myanmar Energy Crisis Deepens, Chinese Developers Proceed with Caution.‘ Global China Pulse 1(1): 18-19. July 2022.
Select Features and Analyses, 2018 - 2020
I spearheaded the coverage of Chinese overseas business for Caixin Media, an investigative news outlet in China. My work brought Chinese audiences nuanced views from the frontlines of China’s Belt and Road initiative.
A shipowner and a betel nut stand: the shady millionaire linked to the death of a Myanmar sailor The Myanmar Times, 1 May 2020
The four days that turned Malaysia from an anti-epidemic model to a coronavirus hotspot The Reporter, 8 April 2020
How does post-crisis Greece see the growth of Chinese presence? (with photos) Caixin Media, 16 November 2019
Investing in Myanmar: How do Chinese companies decrypt the tacit cultural rules? Caixin Media, 12 October 2019 [Cited by a paper published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]
Rejuvenation of Greece’s largest port Caixin Media, 23 August 2019
Investigation: The Myanmar villages changed by the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipelines Caixin Globus, 27 April 2019
Indonesia's president aide-backed Belt and Road proposals Caixin Globus, 12 April 2019
The Philippines' Duterte to tackle ethnic issues through an autonomous region Caixin Globus, 2 February 2019
Malaysian monarch steps down possibly because of marriage - what are the political implications? Caixin Media, 7 January 2019
The Forest City entangled in Malaysia’s political games (with photos) Caixin Globus, 15 October 2018
Land Reform in South Africa: Ransom or Dispossession? Caixin Weekly, 24 September 2018
France to tighten foreign investment rules as part of Macron’s economic reforms Caixin Media, 3 August 2018
How has the anti-corruption drive of South Africa’s ‘pro-business’ president impacted the investment environment? Caixin Media, 30 July 2018
Should blockchain companies be worried about European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)? Caixin Media, 11 July 2018
The Lawyer Who Helped Firms Invest in North Korea Caixin Global, 15 June 2018
Ahead of Merkel’s China visit, German politicians mull to tighten grip on Chinese investments Caixin Media, 21 May 2018
Exclusive Interviews, 2018 - 2019
I raised questions concerning foreign investors with prominent decision makers in countries receiving Chinese direct investment and development finance.
Malaysian Prime Minister’s Special Envoy: How was the largest Malaysia-China project East Coast Rail Link resuscitated? Caixin Media, 12 May 2019
Malaysia’s Prime-Minister-in-Waiting Anwar Ibrahim: With the nation going through a difficult time, we decided to set asides the grudges (a feature on Anwar’s political career and Malaysia’s civil struggle and a Q&A with Anwar) Caixin Media, 12 February 2019
Sit-down with Myanmar’s ruling party spokesperson: How does the civilian government rule with the military? Caixin Media, 4 January 2019
Myanmar’s History of Bad Deals Inspires Caution, Ruling Party Spokesperson Says Caixin Global, 15 November 2018
Sit-down with São Tomé and Príncipe President: The experience of resumed diplomatic relations with China in the last two years Caixin Media, 7 September 2018
Dialogue with South African President Ramaphosa: ‘There is no neocolonialism’ Caixin Media, 5 September 2018
Exclusive interview with Mahathir: Resuscitate the Malaysia-China relations (a feature on the impact Malaysia’s historic 2018 election on the China-Malaysia relations and an exclusive interview with Mahathir) Caixin Weekly, 27 August 2018
Mahathir Aims for ‘Win-Win’ in Reducing Chinese Projects Caixin Global, 20 August 2018 [The article was cited by Malaysiakini, a prominent independent news outlet in Malaysia.]
Visuals
Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park Urban China, Issue 87, February 2020
The Grandpa (Documentary) May 2015
