Jessie Lau is a writer & journalist from Hong Kong, now in London.
Hi there—I’m a freelance journalist telling global stories with an intersectional feminist approach. I’ve spent the past decade covering identity, politics, human rights and culture from Asia, Europe and the United States. My writing, reportage and films have appeared in The Guardian, BBC, Los Angeles Review of Books, CNN, The Economist, Channel 4 News, 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. I also build communities: I’m magazine editor-in-chief and board member at the global feminist non-profit NüVoices, as well as founding director of New Tide Media Network, a UK-based ESEA journalism community. Read a selection of my stories below + commission/pitch me here!

Hong Kong's democracy movement was crushed in 2020. But the spirit of resistance survives
Solidarity persists, under the most stringent conditions and amid palpable fear

“Young people feel hopeless”: the Thai protesters revolting against authoritarian rule
The country’s youth-led protests are dividing the nation

Why the US-China Rivalry Is Thwarting Transnational Solidarity
The Black Lives Matter and Hong Kong democracy movement can learn a lot from each other

How Beijing’s new security law is already changing lives
For many Hongkongers, China’s tightening grip is forcing them to ask the question: should I stay or go?

From London I watch the crisis engulfing Hong Kong
Watching from afar as Beijing passes the security law that tightens its grip on the territory, I feel grief and helplessness

Hong Kong’s Minorities Face Racism From Police and Protesters
Ethnic tensions are coming to the fore, but many minorities find solidarity with activists

Hong Kong's Summer of Unrest
Five years after the Umbrella Movement, Hong Kong is once again in the midst of revolution and reclaiming