My latest #ThoughtoftheDayonChina: In a podcast interview, I share my personal and professional insights across my life and career, Hong Kong’s unique role and South China Morning Post.

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In an interview on the podcast, “Perspectives with Wenchi Yu”, I share my personal and professional insights across my life and career, Hong Kong’s unique role as a capitalist city in a vast socialist country, and my 26 years at South China Morning Post, Asia’s leading English-language newspaper. Wenchi is a thought leader on Asia, with her career Her career spanning multiple sectors, including the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Congress, and Goldman Sachs.

Here is the summary of my one-hour long podcast:

#### Growing Up in the Rustbelt Province of Jilin

Wang describes his childhood in Jilin province, part of China’s northeastern rustbelt, as marked by economic hardship and industrial decline. He notes that after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the region saw significant development of heavy industries over the first 20-30 years, much like the U.S. rustbelt states. However, the economy later suffered greatly. The area’s proximity to the Soviet Union shaped early education, with Russian being the dominant foreign language during periods of good Sino-Soviet relations. By the time Wang grew up, relations had soured, and China was beginning to open up to the wider world. His family was poor, and their most valuable possession was a shortwave transistor radio, which became a gateway to outside information.

#### First Exposure to English by Listening to “Enemy Radio”

Wang’s introduction to English started in a modest school with around 50 students, where he was the only one truly engaged with the subject. His teacher, originally trained in Russian but retrained in English as China opened up, took a personal interest in him and provided extra tutoring, igniting his passion. One day, tuning into the family radio, he discovered the “English 900” program on Voice of America (VOA), hosted by a woman with a sweet Beijing accent who had immigrated to the U.S. This, along with BBC’s “Follow Me” program aired on Chinese state TV, influenced generations born in the 1950s-1970s. “English 900” was originally designed to teach English in Taiwan and later adapted for mainland listeners.

Unbeknownst to him at the time, listening to VOA was illegal in China from the 1950s to the 1980s, labeled as “listening to enemy radio” and punishable by imprisonment. He draws a parallel to today’s restrictions, like using VPNs to access foreign news, which many still do despite the risks. This experience propelled him to ...