As a child of Chinese immigrants in the United States, Edward Wong grew up knowing little about his father’s past. His father grew up during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II and the Communist revolution. Believing in the promise of a powerful China, he joined the People’s Liberation Army, serving in Manchuria during the Korean War and later in Xinjiang. In 1962, disillusioned with the Communist Party, he fled to Hong Kong.
When Edward Wong became the Beijing bureau chief for The New York Times in 2008, he explored his father’s past while reporting on the new dream of a resurgent China. Following his father as a correspondent rather than a soldier, he witnessed ethnic struggles in Xinjiang and Tibet and pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
In an interview conducted on July 19, 2024, Edward Wong, in conversation with Emily Baum, weaves together the stories of his family and of China during decades of sweeping change.
