Jessie Lau is a London-based writer & human rights journalist.
Hi there—I’m a multi-platform journalist approaching global stories with an intersectional feminist perspective. I’ve spent the past decade covering identity, social justice and culture from Asia, Europe and the United States. My work has appeared in The Guardian, BBC, Los Angeles Review of Books, CNN, The Economist, WIRED and many others. A persistent generalist with expertise on China and Asia, I’m most interested in transnational stories grappling with gender, race, and empire. Originally from Hong Kong, I’m a board member at the non-profit NüVoices and founding editor of its magazine. Read a selection of my stories below + commission/pitch me here!
Can AI speak the language Japan tried to kill?
More than a century after colonisation, the Ainu language almost vanished. Now machines are listening to hours of old recordings and learning to give it a new voice.
“We’re All Chinese, Aren’t We?”
Jessie Lau ponders Emily Feng’s book “Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping’s China.”
Fake steps and point farms: How 'addicted' gamers are cheating a Chinese app designed to help the climate
An acclaimed Chinese app game was designed to encourage green behaviour. But some users are gaming the system – paying others to help them rack up points and even buying devices that rock their phones to artificially boost their step count
Hong Kong’s Democratic Diaspora Is Embracing British Elections
A recently arrived voting bloc could decide seats in London
Beijing erases memory of ‘white paper’ protests in further threat to journalism
Silencing of a film-maker documenting the widespread 2022 demonstrations against Covid controls is part of rising suppression of press freedom
Threats, fear and surveillance: how Beijing targets students in the UK who criticise regime
Chinese students tell the Guardian they are scared to return home and worry for their families after being followed and harassed
Beijing accused of using spying, threats and blackmail against Tibetan exiles
China ‘threatens relatives in Tibet’ to exert control over activists in exile, with greater transnational repression at Tibetan new year
Elderly Uyghur women imprisoned in China for decades-old religious ‘crimes’, leaked files reveal
Hundreds of women sentenced for practices such as studying the Qur’an, dating back as far back as 60s and 70s, analysis of Chinese police files shows
‘It’s difficult to survive’: China’s LGBTQ+ advocates face jail and forced confession
Trans and queer people and their supporters suffer ‘systemic persecution’ as the party pushes increasingly conservative values
‘Looty’: How a dog stolen from China sparked a British luxury craze
Meet “Looty,” a dog stolen by the British in the looting of China’s Old Summer Palace and gifted to the queen. Her journey sparked a craze–and left behind a legacy mired in British imperialism and racism
Uyghur filmmaker faces trial in Xinjiang and alleges torture
Ikram Nurmehmet, a director known for featuring Uyghur protagonists, faced trial in Xinjiang and alleges authorities tortured him in detention
Deported to a Country You Can’t Remember
Former child refugee Phoeun You was paroled from California’s San Quentin State Prison in 2021–only to be deported to Cambodia. He’s free, but can’t return to the only home he remembers
I Was a Chinese Protester. Here’s Why I Risked My Freedom
Speaking over an encrypted messaging app, “Zhao” reflected on the demonstrations and the young people powering them
Chinese Students Are At The Forefront Of Anti-Lockdown Protests
Young people in China are finding their political awakening
China's silenced feminist: How Sophia Huang Xueqin went missing
WATCH: BBC Eye investigates the disappearance of Sophia Huang Xueqin, a high-profile journalist who kick-started China’s #MeToo
Hong Kong's embattled gender movement is coming under fire amid Beijing's national security crackdown
With new leader, the future for progressive politics looks more challenging - for feminists in Hong Kong, it was already bleak
The End Game of China’s Zero-Covid Policy Nightmare
As most of the world decides to live with the virus, China is doubling down on a strategy to crush it. But at what cost?
Facing censorship at home, Chinese feminists are sounding the alarm over Peng Shuai abroad
Amid crackdowns on #MeToo whistleblowers, Chinese feminists in the UK and US are creating communities to fight against sexism and racism
‘Patriots Only’: Hong Kong’s New Election System in Action
Changes to Hong Kong’s election system, as well as the overarching national security law, have all but killed any formal political opposition.
Why tennis star Peng Shuai’s #MeToo allegation is such a threat to China’s leaders
Her accusation exposes systemic sexism and threatens the Communist Party’s legitimacy, Chinese feminists say