Amy Hawkins
@amyhawk_
Followers
8,867
Following
3,501
Media
264
Statuses
6,194
Senior China correspondent @guardian . Previously @TheEconomist . 请联系我: amy.hawkins @theguardian .com
Joined November 2011
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Iran
• 1899176 Tweets
ايران
• 926460 Tweets
اسرائيل
• 844772 Tweets
Tel Aviv
• 531424 Tweets
باريس
• 446408 Tweets
Presidenta
• 317864 Tweets
Middle East
• 311216 Tweets
Halloween
• 280100 Tweets
Claudia Sheinbaum
• 200610 Tweets
Iron Dome
• 122941 Tweets
#تل_ابيب
• 113878 Tweets
الاردن
• 65624 Tweets
Tehran
• 63516 Tweets
Saka
• 62905 Tweets
#الهلال_الشرطه_العراقي
• 62716 Tweets
#savaş
• 60544 Tweets
World War 3
• 58033 Tweets
John Amos
• 57081 Tweets
Young Boys
• 47081 Tweets
Isreal
• 38074 Tweets
WWIII
• 35662 Tweets
Dortmund
• 33248 Tweets
Brest
• 31900 Tweets
#ARSPSG
• 29462 Tweets
Astros
• 25725 Tweets
Ferran
• 21666 Tweets
القبه الحديديه
• 20970 Tweets
Pedri
• 20112 Tweets
Merino
• 18647 Tweets
Kai Havertz
• 17480 Tweets
Timber
• 16042 Tweets
Coming to America
• 14179 Tweets
Unprovoked
• 13759 Tweets
Davante Adams
• 13474 Tweets
Lewandowski
• 13345 Tweets
Adeyemi
• 11856 Tweets
Ansu
• 11123 Tweets
Donnarumma
• 10702 Tweets
🚨 Personal news! Today is my last day at The Economist. I am thrilled to be joining The Guardian next month as their senior China correspondent. Will miss all my clever colleagues but so excited to dive back into the biggest story in the world，好久不见！
59
44
1K
Crazy story: a woman who recently bought a coat from Regatta found what appears to be a Chinese prisoner's ID card sewn into the lining of the sleeve. I met her in Derbyshire to find out more about how her coat was made
201
509
1K
How to make sense of a man who went from poverty in China to becoming one of Hong Kong’s richest men and most vocal pro-democracy activists? Jimmy Lai has now been in jail for more than 1,000 days. This is my attempt to convey his extraordinary character
130
222
549
Chinese censors block image of athletes hugging - seemingly because of the "64" race numbers
142
219
484
Have wanted to see this in person for so long! In person vote counting in Taiwan, with each ballot shown to observers and tallied up on a whiteboard for all to see
25
101
469
Excl: China’s last major mosque to have retained Arab-style features has now lost its domes, a major moment in Beijing’s Sinification of Islam policy
With
@elenaukc
81
254
467
I had a fascinating time meeting Chinese people in Thailand looking for lifestyles they feel are no longer available in China. Ft. Independent bookshops, artist communities, organic farms and Buddhist schools
49
116
389
The Wall Street Journal says that it stands for press freedom but fired
@selina_cheng
after she was elected as chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association. Really troubling
42
188
379
It was such a joy to interview Wang Jing, the director of “The Best is Yet to Come”, about making a film about investigative journalism in a country that jails journalists. His film is a nostalgic tribute to a more open time
4
94
322
My article this week about how learning Mandarin is going out of fashion. Plenty of people glad they studied it, but the idea that it's gonna lead to $$$ (rather than just cost you $$$) is...misguided
34
81
299
It's my first day as The Guardian's China corro! My DMs are open for story ideas, tips or to have a chat about anything China-related. Can't wait to get started
🚨 Personal news! Today is my last day at The Economist. I am thrilled to be joining The Guardian next month as their senior China correspondent. Will miss all my clever colleagues but so excited to dive back into the biggest story in the world，好久不见！
59
44
1K
17
20
300
China's young people are overeducated and underemployed. The government wants to create 12m urban jobs this year - but that's barely enough to cover just the graduating class of 2023. My piece:
71
118
268
Absolutely loved this funny, insightful article by veteran feminist activist Li Maizi about her decade long relationship with the policeman assigned to supervise her in Beijing. Some bonds stand the test of time!
5
81
273
Exclusive: an asylum seeker from Hong Kong has been rejected from the newly-expanded BNO scheme, after following Home Office advice that left her in legal limbo
31
140
242
In this week's
@TheEconomist
I wrote about the huge popularity of cosmetic surgery in China. I wasn't surprised to learn that the numbers are massive. I was surprised to learn that 90% of patients are under 35
22
66
229
Excl: Lord Chris Patten, the former governor of HK, has condemned the involvement of British judge Lord David Neuberger in today's ruling against Jimmy Lai and other pro-democracy activists
57
104
231
Hong Kongers have started to withdraw from the city's organ donor registry - seemingly as a form of subtle protest against closer ties to mainland China
83
70
227
Earlier this week, my cousin was racially profiled at Newark Airport, causing mass chaos in an atmosphere where people seem to feel a mass shooter could always be round the corner
28
141
214
Police in Hong Kong raid family home of UK-based exile Nathan Law
28
152
212
Tomorrow, a trial begins in California over the fate of the diaries of Li Rui, Mao’s secretary turned prominent CCP critic. Stanford Uni acquired Li’s diaries several years ago, but now his widow - and, some say, the Chinese government - want them back
16
126
203
Jimmy Lai lawyers file UN appeal saying there is evidence witness was tortured
119
112
192
In August, Chinese dissident Kwon Pyong made headlines (and waves) by jetskiing from China to South Korea.
But rather than finding freedom, he was arrested + faces more than 2 years in jail, an extraordinarily harsh sentence.
Now his family have spoken out for the first time
55
76
188
The trial of feminist activist Sophia Huang Xueqin, and labour rights activist, Wang Jianbing, began in secret in Guangzhou today, two years after they were first arrested.
Sophia was on her way to study in the UK on a Chevening scholarship
12
114
183
"Chinese organised crime groups...communicate via encrypted Chinese apps such as WeChat" - don't often hear about WeChat being used to evade surveillance.
Great piece on links between Chinese capital flight and the US fentanyl crisis
26
100
187
This was my first year at The Economist. Not the year I expected, but grateful to work at such an interesting place and learn from clever + kind colleagues. Here are some articles I'm proud of...
6
9
169
Leaked emails shed more light on the Hugos debacle:
Authors ‘excluded from Hugo awards over China concerns’
16
98
174
China is state most dangerous to its own citizens’ civil rights, report finds
68
72
149
It was a privilege to work with
@mayjamesuk
on this story about Hong Kong asylum seekers in the UK. Communities that should have welcomed them have also become sources of abuse.
‘My time in the UK has been a disaster’: Hongkongers fear deportation
27
97
155
Not all of the people fleeing repression in Hong Kong are rich bankers. Some left their families and their small amount of savings behind, and needed somewhere cheap and safe to stay in the UK. I met a few of them in Blackpool for
@TheEconomist
@1843mag
9
42
156
China has detained one of its citizens on suspicion of spying after she did some administrative work for a US logistics company.
Her husband, a US citizen, said: “nothing short of a miracle will save us”
55
80
155
Several authors, including RF Kuang, were excluded from the science-fiction Hugo Awards in China for reasons that remain unclear.
"I assume this was a matter of undesirability rather than ineligibility," Kuang said.
19
69
158
Countless Chinese people posted videos on WeChat of the White Paper protests. Now one (that we know of) has been convicted - Uyghur student Kamile Wayit
6
96
149
I am v v proud that my first leader written (with a lot of help!) for
@TheEconomist
is about a topic I care a lot about. Covid-19 has changed the way we do abortions – for the better. Women should be allowed to order their medicines from home:
12
34
140
Today two Uyghur groups asked the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into China's abuses. It may not get anywhere, but it could still be worrying for Beijing. My article for
@TheEconomist
with spicy comments from
@philippesands
5
73
135
Ahead of June 4th, China's censors are up to their usual tricks. This year Sitong Bridge - the site of last year's famous banner protest - has been added to the list
42
87
135
Jimmy Lai turns 76 today, with his national security trial due to finally start later this month. Two years ago, when he was still in prison awaiting trial, he said that he felt "full and at peace". I wonder how he feels today
58
65
137
Exclusive: academic research based on DNA samples from Uyghurs in Xinjiang has been retracted because of ethical concerns. But some scientists are asking why this kind of research is allowed to be published in leading western journals at all
17
68
125
Exiled pro-democracy Hong Kong activists blocked from accessing pensions
65
73
122
I wrote 3 pieces in this week's
@TheEconomist
, all concerned with identity in some way or another. Firstly, this piece about Hong Kongers considering emigration. Many feel hopeless about the city's future, but are also worried about being a "deserter"
8
42
120
"I talked to a doctor, and she told me that to freeze my eggs in China, I either need a husband or I need to have cancer. And I told her, I don’t want either".
Single women in China are banned from freezing their eggs. So many go abroad to preserve their fertility. My piece to
4
40
119
For a deeper dive into the "dirty secret" of prison labour in China, and how it affects global supply chains, highly recommend this 2018 deep dive by
@YuanfenYang
written from the world's garlic capital
11
32
118
What is actually happening to the Uyghurs in Xinjiang? I wrote a short explainer for
@TheEconomist
to cover the basics
6
46
106
World watches as landmark Jimmy Lai trial set to begin in Hong Kongh
46
66
109
For the past few months I have been speaking to Hong Kongers who have fled their home for a new life in the UK. Some of them, unexpectedly, ended up in Blackpool. I spent some time with them and wrote about their stories for
@1843mag
1
38
103
So much of Hong Kong's protest art takes the form of graffiti. I love how Giraffe Leung turns the government's attempts to eliminate protest slogans into a form of art in itself. His work features in a new exhibition that I wrote about for
@TheEconomist
3
38
104
China’s journalists association has issued a rare rebuke over police harassment of two CCTV reporters. “Legitimate interviews are a journalist’s right”, the group said, in an unusual defence of press freedom
12
56
105
Across SE Asia, same-sex couples like Josh and Jownie are tying the knot. Other indicators of LGBT acceptance are improving too. And laws are slowly catching up. Such a joy to share this article which I have worked on for months 🌈 💖
#PrideMonth
8
32
98
#MeToo
activist Sophia Huang Xueqin and labour rights activist Wang Jianbing sentenced to 5 and 3.5 years in jail
38
64
91
I also thought it was interesting that although double eyelid surgery is by far the most popular procedure, it's not typically about looking more Western. It's more about achieving the "golden ratio" of facial proportions.
10
8
88
British private schools in China under threat as new ‘patriotic’ law comes in
63
35
86
My article in this week's
@TheEconomist
is about the prospects of legalising same sex marriage in China. So many tireless activists are working on this issue, and they might be getting closer!🌈🥳🌈
3
19
82
Hong Kong's top court, including British judge David Neuberger, chair of an intnl media freedoms panel, has unanimously upheld the conviction of Jimmy Lai, Margaret Ng, Martin Lee and others for participating in a pro-democracy protest in HK in 2019
45
70
81
Jimmy Lai: editors from around the world call for release of Hong Kong media mogul
15
36
74
‘The old days are no more’: Hong Kong goes quiet as security laws tighten their grip
66
26
79
China is building twice as much wind and solar power as rest of world combined - but still it’s addicted to coal. With comments from
@LiShuo_GP
4
39
77
Taiwan’s ‘cat warrior’: former US envoy Hsiao Bi-khim hopes to be next vice-president
9
19
76
Tony Chung, the founder of Studentlocalism, has fled to the UK, where he claimed asylum in the early hours of Thursday morning. I spoke to him last night about how he was asked to spy on fellow HK activists - and why he decided to flee
34
39
72
And it’s exhausting and stressful to speak out. But
@AlaskaAir
has not apologized fully, and if ethnically Chinese people (regardless of citizenship!!) are being treated with even more hostility in today’s America, it needs to be called out. Thank you
@ambiej
for covering this
3
16
73
China rights activist Li Qiaochu, the partner of Xu Zhiyong, goes on trial for ‘inciting subversion of state power’
20
40
69
Talking to my cousin, he made the point that too often the “model minority” trope means that East Asian people don’t make a fuss when they’re the victims of racism. And Chinese diaspora person knows what I’m talking about (and I’m sure lots of other minorities too)
1
10
65
What are the signs that China is preparing for a military conflict?
"It’s rare, in history, for a navy or military to build out and modernise so rapidly without a real reason for doing so,"
@BDHerzinger
told me, for this piece.
6
19
62
Last week’s crackdown on LGBT WeChat accounts came amidst a resurgence of homophobic nationalism online. The “being gay is a foreign conspiracy” line is having a bit of a moment, along with weird antisemitic theories. My piece for
@TheEconomist
0
36
62
“I feel sorry for artists who stay in Hong Kong,” said
@KaceyWong15
. “Their minds must be spinning so fast”
Artists flee as city grapples with status as arts hub amid rising repression
31
29
63
This week, Argentina legalised early-term abortion on request 🎉 I wrote about what the laws are like in the rest of Latin America. For the most part, the millions of abortions that happen there each year happen illegally
5
20
59
The
@AlaskaAir
employee asked questions suggesting she thought they were spies. Don’t know if it was was rogue incident or sign of greater hostility towards Chinese people in Trumps Trade War America, but I do know that it is so, so tiring and humiliating to be treated like this
2
14
58
In the words of
@adjwilson
, "Compared to how much more employable you can make yourself by learning something like Python...Mandarin seems like an inefficient use of resources." In the words of
@TheOnion
.....It Time To Give Up
3
6
57
Olivia was one of the young people at the frontlines of the protests in Hong Kong. But because she travelled to the UK before the BNO route was expanded, she's been excluded from a scheme that was supposed to help people like her
0
28
56
the sweet relief of closing the tab for a longread you finally accept you’ll never read 💜
1
2
56
Egypt has had several high profile sex abuse cases recently. The arrest of one alleged serial abuser seemed like a turning point. But the arrest of accusers/witnesses in other cases suggest otherwise...I wrote about some of this messiness
1
11
50
The whole situation sounds absurd and so stressful, who everyone who thought they were “about to be shot in the back” and for my cousin and the other Chinese man who were targeted purely because of their race
2
13
48
‘As well prepared as they could be’: how Taiwan kept death toll low in massive earthquake - with
@chihui__lin
16
15
54
The most popular film in HK last year was a courtroom drama about the challenges of power and justice. Some have interpreted its success as a coded nod to the political situation in the city (the film also did very well in mainland China)
7
17
52
What actually are China's overseas police stations? Run by regional security bureaus from China's south-east, they're not actually staffed by police officers. But they're "only the tip of the iceberg" of transnational repression, says
@LauraHarth
5
29
50
Lord David Neuberger, one of the last remaining British judges in HK, will hear an appeal from Jimmy Lai, Martin Lee, Margaret Ng + other pro-democracy activists later this month
Remaining British judges face pressure to resign from Hong Kong’s top court
27
29
50
Jimmy Lai trial hears evidence from ‘tortured’ witness
6
36
48
In this week's
@TheEconomist
I wrote about a cause close to my heart, and my bladder: the UK needs more public toilets!!! And
@ldnloocodes
is campaigning to open up the private ones
5
16
47
In a milestone for LGBT rights in China, a court has said that a child can legally have two mothers. I spoke to the woman fighting for custody of the children she had with her now estranged wife
4
27
49
This is sad: Beijing's museum about migrant workers closed over the weekend
1
16
48
Taiwan election: global leaders draw Beijing’s ire for congratulating new president - with
@heldavidson
5
13
46
Over the past five years, the number of people in modern slavery around the world has increased significantly. My piece:
4
20
40
My article about whether Chinese students in America are, or are not, spies. Thank you
@mattsheehan88
@alexj
@li_ne_zha
@yangyang_cheng
for your comments!
1
24
45
Protests in China are much more common than many people realise. A new project from
@freedomhouse
aims to track their frequency - and causes. My piece for
@TheEconomist
3
15
42
Happy World Bee Day!🐝🐝🐝🐝 Here is my favourite article that I've ever written about bees (and their keepers). Look after yourself, and the bees!
1
13
44
"The Journal, my supervisor said, did not want its reporters seen calling for greater freedoms—because, unlike in Western nations, it is not an established principle in Hong Kong." By
@selina_cheng
16
25
46
My first article for The Guardian's China pages - and it's on public spending 🤓 with help from
@xiaoqianzhu2
1
14
46
My first piece for
@TheEconomist
Foreign Affairs team (👋) is an explainer on tomorrow's elections in Taiwan: Tsai Ing-wen looks set to win, meaning likely 4 more years of ever more strained relations with Beijing
1
9
46
Few world leaders are as mysterious as Xi Jinping. These books, and one autobiographical essay, help to make sense of him
3
7
43
One striking finding: Uyghurs make up less than 1% of China's population, but are the subject of more than 20% of China's forensic population genetics research.
3
17
45
Woman in front of me keeping her own personal tally. Anyone can be an election observer!
1
3
40
“Is there any ‘garbage time’ in our history? This is a false proposition that is not worth refuting,” the Beijing Daily writer declared in the 3,000-character piece refuting the proposition.
7
21
42
Earlier this year I was lucky to go to Zimbabwe to investigate a story that has interested me for years: how China is helping Zimbabwe (+ other African countries) to build a surveillance state. My piece in this week's
@TheEconomist
4
21
42
Today is
#InternationalSafeAbortionDay
– I wrote for
@TheEconomist
about how covid-19 has allowed abortions in the UK to happen earlier, and more safely.
3
14
39
My first contact with
@BeijingPalmer
was when I sent a grovelling apology for a piece of mine that used his work without attribution (the editor had taken the link out!) He was v nice about it and went on to commission me lots for
@ForeignPolicy
when I was a baby freelancer
.
@BeijingPalmer
noticed me sassing around on Twitter late 2018 and asked me if I wanted to write something for Foreign Policy. I’ll never forget how he took a chance on me right when I was at a career impasse & reawakened my long-dormant dream to be a writer.
3
5
178
0
2
42
Youth unemployment in China is at a record high. But the government’s suggestion that graduates go and toil in the countryside has gone down like a lead balloon. My piece:
2
14
40
Since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, the number of Chinese asylum seekers has shot up. I wrote about why for
@TheEconomist
0
11
41