Yuen-Ying Chan | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Hong Kong |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Occupation(s) | journalist, professor |
| Awards | International Press Freedom Award (1997) |
Yuen-Ying Chan (Chinese:陳婉瑩;pinyin:Chén Wǎnyíng;Cantonese Yale:Chan4 Yun2-ying4, also known asYing Chan) is a Hong Kong–based journalist and journalism academic whose investigative work and subsequent successful defence of a libel suit helped establishTaiwanesemediafreedom.
AHong Kong native,[1] Chan received a bachelor's degree in social sciences from theUniversity of Hong Kong and a master's in journalism from theChinese University of Hong Kong.[2] Chan moved to the United States in 1972 to pursue a graduate degree at theUniversity of Michigan.[1] She later worked for the New YorkDaily News.[3]
In 1999, Chan founded theJournalism and Media Studies Centre at theUniversity of Hong Kong, with it offering both graduate and undergraduate degrees in journalism. She then led the centre as Director until 2016.[4] She also established the Cheung Kong School of Journalism and Communication atShantou University inGuangdong, China, and became its first dean.[5]
In October 2016, she joined Hong Kongpublic policythink tankCivic Exchange as a Distinguished Fellow.[4]
In 1996, Chan collaborated withShieh Chung-liang, theTaiwan bureau chief of the Hong Kong–based magazineYazhou Zhoukan to investigate possible Taiwanese contributions to US PresidentBill Clinton'sre-election campaign. The pair wrote an article that appeared on 25 October reporting that Liu Tai-ying, the business manager of Taiwan'sKuomintang political party, had offered $15 million to Mark Middleton, an ex-ClintonWhite House aide.[1] The article included a denial from Liu that he had offered the money.[3] Liu went on to file a criminal libel suit against the pair on 7 November.[6] Chen Chao-ping, a political consultant named as the source of the story, was added as a co-defendant.[7] Liu also filed a civil suit for $15 million in damages.[8]
Calling the trial "a test case for press freedom in Asia",The Committee to Protect Journalists filed anamicus brief on their behalf, as did ten major US media companies.[1] The Kuomintang called a special meeting to endorse the libel suit and condemn Chan and Shieh.[7] However, a Taiwanese district court ruled in the pair's favour on 22 April 1997.[1] The ruling was "hailed as a landmark decision" for press freedom by media watchdog groups, in part because Judge Lee Wei-shen's decision acknowledged the constitutionalright to a free press for the first time in Taiwanese judicial history.[8]
In 2006, she strongly criticised the search engine Google for censoring itsChinese service, calling it "a missed opportunity to help nurture free journalism in the country".[9]
Chan's honours include a 1995Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University[3] and aGeorge Polk Award for excellence in American journalism.[5]
In November 1997, theCommittee to Protect Journalists gave Chan and Shieh itsInternational Press Freedom Award,[1] "an annual recognition of courageous journalism".[10] The award citation stated that "[Chan and Shieh's] courage sets an example in a region noted for both widespread self-censorship and government intervention in the functioning of the press."[1]
In August 2013, theAsian American Journalists Association honoured Chan with a Lifetime Achievement Award, citing her media studies leadership roles at HKU and Shantou University.[11] "Through journalism programs at both universities she is raising a new generation of questioning, curious and fair journalists right on the doorstep of mainland China," the award citation said in part.[12]
Chan was a member of thePeabody AwardsBoard of Jurors from 2003 to 2009.[13]
