Join us for a free one-day workshop for educators at the Japanese American National Museum, hosted by the USC U.S.-China Institute and the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. This workshop will include a guided tour of the beloved exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community, slated to close permanently in January 2025. Following the tour, learn strategies for engaging students in the primary source artifacts, images, and documents found in JANM’s vast collection and discover classroom-ready resources to support teaching and learning about the Japanese American experience.
Assignment: China - Follow the Money
The final episode of Assignment China, "Follow the Money" focuses on the behind-the-scenes story of the journalists who during 2012 conducted ground-breaking investigations about China's nouveau riche, and the dramatic, controversial, and often frightening consequences.
September 30, 2015
English | 中文
In many decades of western news coverage of China, 2012 was a watershed moment. In the space of just a few months, a Bloomberg News team headed by correspondent Michael Forsythe publishing a sweeping expose of how relatives of China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, has earned vast fortunes in a variety of often disguised business deals. Soon after, David Barboza of the New York Times published his own revelations of the wealth accumulated by the relatives of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao.
Both stories broke new ground, not only in terms of what they revealed about China’s new rich- but also as examples of a new kind of investigative journalism that has become increasingly important for covering a rapidly changing China. The correspondents took advantage of China’s evolution towards a more open, internationally engaged, market-style economy to unravel a series of complex, opaque, often hidden set of business dealings reaching to the highest levels in the People’s Republic.
The behind-the-scenes story of the journalists who conducted the investigations- and faced the dramatic, controversial, and often frightening consequences- is the subject of “Follow the Money.” Based on extensive interviews with most of the leading figures involved, the film chronicles the emergence of a new kind of journalism that will become increasingly crucial as reporters- and the public at large- seek to understand the dynamics of a new, wealthy, and increasingly powerful China.
“Follow the Money” is the final episode of Assignment: China, a 12-part series chronicling the history of American correspondents in China from the 1940s to the present day produced by the U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California. The lead reporter is Mike Chinoy, a Senior Fellow at the Institute and former CNN Beijing bureau chief and Senior Asia Correspondent.
This video is also available on the USCI YouTube Channel.
Interviewees featured in this segment:
David Barboza
Hannah Beech
Andrew Browne
Chris Buckley
Melissa Chan
Leta Hong Fincher
Peter Ford
Michael Forsythe
Stan Grant
Joseph Kahn
Evan Osnos
Jeremy Page
Austin Ramzy
Ben Richardson
Keith Richburg
Edward Wong
Eunice Yoon
Hannah Beech
Andrew Browne
Chris Buckley
Melissa Chan
Leta Hong Fincher
Peter Ford
Michael Forsythe
Stan Grant
Joseph Kahn
Evan Osnos
Jeremy Page
Austin Ramzy
Ben Richardson
Keith Richburg
Edward Wong
Eunice Yoon
*****
Assignment: China is a signature project of the USC U.S.-China Institute. Most Americans continue to learn about China primarily through the media and we feel that it is vital to understand the process by which news about China is gathered and shared. Mike Chinoy, USCI senior fellow, reports the series which is filmed and edited by Craig Stubing. Clayton Dube conceived of the project and oversees it. Many students and volunteers assist with research, transcription, and translation.
Assignment: China is possible only because of the willingness of journalists and others to share their stories, documents, and images with us and through the generous financial support of individual and institutional donors. We are grateful to all those who have helped. Please click here to contact us or here if you would like to contribute.
Featured Articles
October 20, 2024
October 20, 2024
Please join us for the Grad Mixer! Hosted by USC Annenberg Office of International Affairs, Enjoy food, drink and conversation with fellow students across USC Annenberg. Graduate students from any field are welcome to join, so it is a great opportunity to meet fellow students with IR/foreign policy-related research topics and interests.
RSVP link: https://forms.gle/1zer188RE9dCS6Ho6
Events
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 - 3:00pm
Hosted by USC Annenberg Office of International Affairs, enjoy food, drink and conversation with fellow international students.
Thursday, November 7, 2024 - 4:00pm
Join us for an in-person conversation on Thursday, November 7th at 4pm with author David M. Lampton as he discusses his new book, Living U.S.-China Relations: From Cold War to Cold War. The book examines the history of U.S.-China relations across eight U.S. presidential administrations.