Eva Dou
@evadou
Followers
31K
Following
3K
Media
460
Statuses
6K
@WashingtonPost tech policy reporter. Author of House of Huawei: The Secret History of China’s Most Powerful Company, out Jan 14 from @portfoliobooks
Washington, DC
Joined May 2009
On the dusty shelves of a Fujian library this summer, I came across an essay written by a young Xi Jinping soon after the bloody Tiananmen crackdown in 1989. It was a hint of how the first serious crisis of his career may have informed his worldview. (1/x)
113
968
3K
“House of Huawei” is out today in the US and UK! It’s the story of how one of the world’s most controversial high-tech companies was built, set against the backdrop of the political, social and economic transformation of modern China. Here’s my cat Pigeon inspecting it.
98
322
2K
Excited to announce that my book about China's most important company, Huawei Technologies, will be out on Jan. 21. Looking forward to sharing this saga of how a small band of entrepreneurs and a nation built something wholly expected . and all that came next.
72
273
2K
China has gone into a soft form of food rationing nationwide, as UN warns of worst global food crisis in 50 yrs. Everyone from Alibaba's Jack Ma to elementary students under pressure to comply. Some restaurants switch to half-portions, others issue fines.
427
845
1K
Excited to have arrived in Seoul, my new reporting home base. The entry quarantine is really strict here - tracking app, no leaving your room for 2 wks except for covid testing, biohazard bucket to put trash in. Happily, the food is delicious & delivered 3x a day!
26
107
811
The Washington Post will use “Uyghur” instead of “Uighur” from now on, matching the spelling used by Uyghurs themselves. Decision made yesterday by our editors, following the change by AP.
19
123
631
So it’s currently 5 weeks of quarantine to get to Beijing from outside of China. 2 weeks centralized quarantine in city of entry (Shanghai for me), another week self-arranged quarantine in Shanghai, then 2 wks in Beijing. This is how strict covid zero still is in China.
47
181
615
One Detroit protester brought a leaf blower, saying it’s to blow back tear gas, in case there’s any
24
116
562
The sad part is, there was considerable pushback from the WSJ China newsroom over this headline to management. It's unfortunate WSJ still chose to double down on a headline that was simply a pun to American readers but offensive to Chinese ones. I turned in my notice amid this.
34
123
514
A lot more about Xi’s governance in Ningde during the 89 protests, and his tenure as China’s leader, in our piece out today. Co-reported with the erudite @cdcshepherd, and our other knowledgeable colleagues @lilkuo @stronghead_yo @Yaoyu_c (9/9).
12
110
478
In Xinjiang, empty reeducation centers loom eerily over the landscape, even as officials woo tourists and try to move past the crackdown. History suggests it may be a long time before Xinjiang can regain int'l trust. Our look at XJ's present and future:
49
177
446
“We must oppose those who, under the pretense of creative freedom, use literature and the arts as a form of political tool to promote bourgeois liberalization…who deny the party’s leadership,” he writes. (3/x)
6
83
419
Before he became China’s point man on trade, Liu He was tasked w a massive study of the Great Depression to prepare for the next big one. The hundreds of pages of reports are an early blueprint of China’s likely policy direction this yr. Some takeaways -
14
245
360
Trump is using the power of his office to attempt to reverse the results of the election, in an unprecedented subversion of democracy in the US. by @PhilipRucker @AmyEGardner @jdawsey1.
16
87
274
Xi was 36, the party chief of Ningde, where large pro-democracy protests had erupted that spring and summer, like cities across the country. In the essay in a literary magazine, he argues for heavier censorship of the arts, drawing a direct line to political stability. (2/x)
3
59
327
“It’s impossible for any nation’s government or ruling party to not meddle at all in literature and the arts…The difference is only in the extent of the interventions. Standards vary.” (4/x)
5
53
321
Thrilled to be joining @annafifield & @gerryshih on the Washington Post's China team! Do send me suggestions for what kinds of business news stories you'd like to read from China.
. @evadou will be joining The Washington Post as a China correspondent. Her new role, focused on business and technology, is part of the Foreign desk's international expansion.
43
21
325
At a Xinjiang factory making gray yarn for H&M T-shirts, a Uighur worker says she had extremist thoughts but now they are all gone. Adidas and Esprit say they are investigating the factory. Our study of Xinjiang supply chains w/ @Chao_Deng
14
256
301
Some sleuthing by @JosephTorigian’s suggests Xi’s mention of foot-washing and chicken eggs is a reference to a notorious pre-Tiananmen Beijing exhibition where an artist fired a real gun. (6/x)
4
45
313
Startling findings from BBC: The largest known Xinjiang camp - in Dabancheng, near Urumqi - is *twice* as big as previously thought, after massive construction over the past half yr. Its capacity of ~130,000 makes it one of the world's largest prisons
14
323
293
A 6-hr drive from Wuhan, @mstandaert saw human traffic into bat caves & shuttered civet farms that supplied Wuhan markets. New details in The Washington Post on a potential natural pathway for the coronavirus, in the same province as the initial outbreak:
30
121
289
So we crunched some numbers & the Chinese cotton grower XPCC sanctioned by Treasury produces 7.6% of the world’s cotton & 1/3 of China’s. Will be v complex for US co.’s to figure out their supply chains by the Sept 30 deadline.
8
197
293
Xi recognizes the power and role of art in society. The art and literature that moves people is not distanced from politics but intertwined in it, he says. “Because it is the unceasing roar of the people.” (8/x)
3
45
293
Xi specifically criticizes performance art like “washing feet, hatching eggs” as “blasphemy, the destruction of beauty.” (5/x)
1
43
288
Xi takes pains to say artists must be allowed some measure of creative freedom. Or else, he says, it will be like the slogans of the Great Leap Forward: “false, big, empty.” His speeches and writings back then are more conciliatory, but ultimately back the party’s control. (7/x)
2
40
267
In the hunt for the coronavirus origin, the trail ends with Patient S01, an accountant in Wuhan who shopped at a very large supermarket. We look at the search for clues from Milan to Paris, & the uncertain data - including discrepancies in the WHO report
18
117
268
Pork prices are just crazy this year. And China has depleted its corn reserves. There is still enough food for folks to eat in China, but not enough for everyone to eat what they want when they want to.
35
74
236
We try not to let personal experience tint our reporting of the broader picture. Still, the one does affect our understanding of the other. Tried setting up a Weibo account, & it was blocked in half an hour. My Taobao account also blocked, & Ali customer service can’t say why 😶🌫️
32
51
260
Some personal news - Today's my last day at WSJ. So grateful to have gotten to work with such incredibly smart, brave and generous journalists for eight years. Thanks to our readers for your engagement and interest in the stories out here in Asia.
28
7
247
One human rights lawyer from the 2015 crackdown has now been in detention without trial for 1,000 days. Wang Quanzhang’s wife outside the courthouse again this morning
3
121
207
New: Huawei worked w partner co.’s on multiple surveillance systems that can track ethnicity, as well as technologies to help prevent political protests, voiceprint database for police use, & other surveillance solutions, according to marketing documents
11
128
234
It’s becoming clearer that the mass detentions in Xinjiang are one half of the campaign, while the other is a no-stone-unturned push to investigate overseas Uighurs for potential extremist links. Here’s what our reporting has found (1/x).
8
240
212
Thrilled and humbled to be working on a narrative-nonfiction account of Huawei, Shenzhen and China’s high-tech industry, to be published by @portfoliobooks in 2024. I’d be honored to hear from anyone who has experienced a slice of this history and would like to share it.
30
16
236
A huge blow to the WSJ and the China foreign press corps, and for such a terrible reason. @joshchin @Chao_Deng @PhilipWen11 are among the most experienced, devoted and fair-minded China journalists around.
11
130
226
China puts GPS tracking devices around the necks of Muslims going for Hajj pilgrimage. One “got lost” and his minders tracked him down
12
267
211
Canadian Robert Schellenberg stood in a Chinese court in a wrinkled white sweatshirt as he was given the death penalty for charges of drug smuggling. The same court sentenced him to 15 yrs in prison just two months ago on nearly the same evidence.
32
196
196
Example of wealth divide in US covid response: Went to get a covid test at a Detroit @cvspharmacy, biked to avoid exposure risk of a cab. CVS only let me take a test in a car, so had to call a Lyft to sit in the drive-thru (poor driver). Safe testing requires car ownership here
9
72
190
Thrilled to be starting today on WaPo’s tech policy team in DC, with the formidable @Cat_Zakrzewski @viaCristiano @ddimolfetta, & our insightful editors @SobelFitts @markseibel. Looking forward to chatting w folks in policy circles here in the coming weeks!
14
7
207
This really is an extraordinary video that BBC has unearthed. On state TV, a young Uighur woman tells local officials she does not want to work at the factory. They continue to pressure her on camera until, weeping, she agrees to go “if others also go.”
If you want to know what’s been happening in Xinjiang over the past few years, and you’ve got a spare 14 minutes, watch this extraordinary Chinese state tv report from 2017. which as far as we can tell has gone so far unnoticed by the outside world:.
29
117
183
China says it will consider Pfizer, Moderna, J&J vaccinations as part of travel applications from the US — a nod to Western vaccines a month after saying it would only facilitate travel for those who got Chinese vaccines
13
75
179
MeToo allegation by Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai against former vice premier Zhang Gaoli sends shockwaves through China. Censors scramble to delete online posts about it
3
103
181
Josh & Chao have been working nonstop to tell stories of everyday people coping w the virus. Phil just ferried in masks & supplies to keep colleagues safe. Heartbreaking that they must bear the blowback from WSJ's opinion page.
A huge blow to the WSJ and the China foreign press corps, and for such a terrible reason. @joshchin @Chao_Deng @PhilipWen11 are among the most experienced, devoted and fair-minded China journalists around.
11
74
178
The WHO says it‘s revising its coronavirus origin report to fix “unintended errors” in early patient profiles after questions from The Washington Post. But says it cannot explain discrepancy in the location of the earliest official case. w/ @emilyrauhala.
8
76
176
As the nation locked down, China tried to approach the holiday with fortitude and humor. We talked to self-quarantined residents, including a man who spent the holiday teaching his cat math. W/ @janieyyj1
7
52
173
Starting my first day at @washingtonpost remotely this morning over a quiet, snowy Detroit. Everyone stay warm & safe during these strange times
13
2
177
China Olympics organizing official says athletes may face punishment for "any behavior or speech that is against the Olympic spirit, especially against the Chinese laws and regulations"
26
118
169
Here are elementary school students at one school in southern China proving they cleaned their plates. They also have to send pics of their dinners at home each day to the school
30
43
149
In a sort of surprising development, China’s government is now cracking down on facial recognition use by businesses and neighborhoods, after years of touting its use in fighting crime. Comes as part of Beijing’s new harsh tone on Big Tech
13
89
175
Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei wrote this book in 1978 about his invention of a pressure generator while working in China's military. Full of equations and diagrams. He mentions it will help Chinese factories reduce reliance on US pressure generators.
6
65
167
This is such a thoughtful, true and human piece about how Chinese security works. Read it to understand China.
0
95
169
The CEO of China coronavirus vaccine maker Sinovac bribed a drug regulatory official for 9 years for vaccine approvals, court records show. A look at the intertwined interests involved in Sinovac’s rise to prominence.
17
102
162
Swedish embassy in Beijing confirms ambassador has left and is under investigation. A day earlier, Angela Gui, daughter of detained Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai, published this account:
8
121
161
A big move on Xinjiang: Pakistan asks China to soften restrictions on Muslims, The Nation reports. It's one thing for Western nations to raise the issue, another for a key Muslim ally to do so
12
128
156
On day 28 of quarantine in Nanjing, crossing my fingers this is the last quarantine dinner — well, for now, anyhow. Nice view and tasty food though. The soup is 丝瓜鸡蛋汤.
7
8
165
The three judges took one hr to deliberate over 10 hrs of proceedings and supplemental statements. That's not much time to come to a consensus and write up the page-long statement read aloud by the chief judge.
8
37
137
Good morning from Nanjing. Left Shanghai last night during the window after my 14-day entry quarantine, when we were allowed to go elsewhere (to continue quarantining). Got a brief glimpse of travel conditions now in China
12
31
152
Fascinating to step back & look at how China has changed since the 2008 Olympics. Everything's changed. China only had 73 miles of high-speed rail, it didn't have an aircraft carrier, it hadn't been to the moon or Mars. There were presidential term limits.
16
57
150
Jonathan Swan’s interview w/ Trump illustrates why interrupting interviewees is part of our job as journalists. When I was interviewing Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei last yr, I interrupted him when he dodged a question. And while I was mid-sentence, @murraymatt said “Shh” to me.
5
25
152
Just arrived back in Korea & got this free govt self-quarantine kit. 6 disposable thermometers, 10 face masks, 2 bottles hand sanitizer, 1 bottle disinfectant, 2 extra large hazardous waste garbage bags.
4
31
146
It’s rare that I get to write about two female Chinese officials. Here I track the trajectories of China’s foreign ministry spin chief Hua Chunying and her only female predecessor, Kung Peng, in the 30s-60s.
5
55
143
Hello from Heihe on the China-Russia border. I arrived here Wednesday night and have been enjoying the sights and fresh air at the Amur River. Russia is in view, & street signs here are bilingual, but travel across the river has been largely suspended due to the pandemic.
14
12
143
Hard to be a patriot in China these days. You have to order N-1 dishes for the domestic audience (local thrift guidelines) & N times 2 dishes for the foreign audience (projecting plenty). That makes N, the equilibrium size of the dinner party, -1 people.
78
26
122
China’s Sinovac & Sinopharm still haven’t published peer-reviewed data on safety & efficacy of their coronavirus vaccines, months after their global rollouts began. “It’s extremely unusual,” says one vaccine expert.
8
78
125
Each winter, China buys *90%* of Chile’s cherries. This time covid was found on packaging from one cherry shipment, and prices plunged. We look at this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to eat as many cherries as you want, no matter your income bracket
10
54
126
China moving the goalposts on Hong Kong rapidly as the world focuses on covid-19. Beijing to impose sweeping national security law in HK by fiat during the annual meeting of its top political body, officials said Thurs. By @annafifield @ShibaniMahtani .
14
62
110
China rejects the WHO's plan for follow-up coronavirus tracing studies, saying it does not respect science. This comes after WHO chief Tedros had harsh words for China last week, calling on it to be transparent. Obstacles ahead for origin-tracing efforts.
12
90
121
The South Korea contact tracer called me, saying my mobile records showed I’d been in a virus hot spot 9 days earlier. My dispatch on retracing my steps & searching my own patchy memory for where I’d been:
6
53
120
Tried asking people in the audience where they were from and why they'd come to the trial. Most wouldn't answer. Don't know why. But think if you found your own way there because you were interested in trials, you wouldn't mind saying.
4
25
116
French embassy in China posts a statement on Weibo expressing concern for Peng Shuai and calling on China to uphold its pledge to combat violence against women. One of the few uncensored posts on Weibo to mention something happened to Peng Shuai
8
32
115
Just arrived back in China, and covid alert levels still high. Deplaning at Shanghai Pudong airport, we’re waiting in numbered seats until passengers from the previous flight have cleared. “It could be risky if you intersect,” says a friendly airport staffer in a hazmat suit.
11
7
123
And one more curiosity - the online archives of two local state-run newspapers in Wuhan, the Hubei Daily and Chutian Metro Daily, can no longer be accessed before Nov. 5, 2019.
7
52
122
Back at the office, a few more thoughts on the protests of Wang Quanzhang's trial yesterday. This is what a protest in China looks like in 2018.
5
91
107
An adapted excerpt of “House of Huawei” is in the Washington Post today, recounting some how the Chinese company brought on a Sputnik moment & became a policy obsession for the first Trump administration. Humbled to be sharing the full book soon with readers (cont).
7
21
120
Disney’s ‘Mulan’ facing calls for boycott after it thanked a Xinjiang local public security bureau sanctioned by Commerce Dept in its credits. Not the way you want to do a movie launch.
6
46
108
The massive US ban on Xinjiang cotton (1/5 world supply) is starting to have some effects, as US brands ask suppliers to use cotton from elsewhere. But industry experts say it will be difficult & costly to ensure suppliers are complying
20
51
110
A surreal time to be leaving Beijing. The first time I've ever seen the airport so empty. Recorded announcements remind everyone to wear their masks. Everyone has to fill out a form detailing their travel and health status
13
26
104
If you can excuse the triviality, I’m going to thread my Shanghai quarantine meals here, because meal deliveries are the best part of quarantine (by a long shot). Hurrah, my food is here!.
9
5
112
On the eve of the Tiananmen anniversary, @cdcshepherd takes stock of the diminishing space for political activism in China, with a portrait of a group of friends in Guangzhou.
8
63
105
I'll always be grateful to WSJ's Chinese researchers for teaching me meticulousness in research & to quadruple check facts. To place each phone call with patience & courtesy even if 19 times out of 20, someone hangs up. And to weigh headlines against the lives they affect.
2
12
105
The 222kg of meth never left Dalian, as Xu blew the whistle to the cops. He looks to have gained immunity in exchange, though this was not clarified, despite requests from the defense. The warehouse was rented in Xu Qing's name. He wasn't charged.
7
38
96
The world has lost too early a kind man, devoted father, life-long student of the Chinese language, unsung hero who made the news a little smarter & brighter each day. Carlos had mentored so many of us & taught us through example to be curious about the world.
3
13
103
Some incredible pictures of 30 years ago resurfacing, including this one.
This spectacular night scene of the mass hunger strike in Tiananmen Square 1989 was taken by a friend of mine. He wants it to be shared, but is too afraid to reveal his name.
2
68
101
Tencent’s stock is down 41% YOY, Alibaba’s down 59%, Baidu’s down 37%. China’s tech sector struggles w/ the dual challenges of regulatory crackdown and covid lockdown
6
35
95
As China tightens chat group censorship, people going to jail for WeChat comments. One man serving a 22-month prison sentence for calling Xi Jinping a steamed dumpling
14
139
91
China's Xinjiang chief Chen Quanguo was sent to control the borderlands, but he cut his teeth on the Falun Gong crackdown in the country's heartland. Read @ByChunHan's profile of a key Chinese official
5
60
89
Am incredulous that WSJ is doubling down on defending the sexist op-ed. Editorial page editor Paul A. Gigot writing, “The outrage is overwrought” & attributes the blowback to politically motivated attacks
10
22
81
Adrian Zenz says lawsuit against him in China shows US sanctions are beginning to bite in Xinjiang. “It is the first admission that they really are suffering major economic losses.”
30
55
90
China entering tricky period, as govt declares 0 new cases in Hubei. Local officials will be under tremendous pressure to not break the streak. (Remember how the '0 terrorist attacks' record in Xinjiang contributed to the brutality of the Uighur crackdown)
24
39
91
Xi Jinping and the rest of the Hebei delegation boating in Iowa in 1985. This was the trip where he met Terry Branstad, then Iowa's youngest governor. (photo courtesy of the Sarah D. Lande US-China Friendship Education Fund)
1
58
89
Out of quarantine. Sunny & warm in Nanjing. Nice day for flying a kite
10
4
86
Liu Xia's apartment still guarded today by two men with cots in the entryway. Her friends say they haven't heard any confirmation of rumors that she might be released from house arrest
8
109
73