**Diana Li (China) is an AFPC Scholarship Awardee for 2022.**

Diana Li is a New York-based financial journalist from China, currently receiving journalism education at NYU journalism school and finance education at NYU Stern School of Business. She is an AFPC Scholarship Awardee from the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA for 2022. With a passion for exploring exciting businesses and financial stories in both the US and China, she interned at the Beijing bureau of Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Reuters, and also Bloomberg News in New York, where she secured a full-time job after graduation. Diana is especially keen on telling complicated business stories by data and is currently working on a few projects using Python and C at NYU. Besides mainstream media, Diana also leverages the power of social media and has over 20,000 followers on Chinese video platforms.

What was the primary reason you chose to pursue your master's studies in the United States as a foreign journalist?

Born and educated in China, I was accustomed to hearing the same narrative of China’s economic development fueled by government propaganda––that China is the sole success story of a country that can balance a prosperous private sector with preserving state–owned mechanisms. However, I realized there were many important stories that were not being told about China’s economic rise. I saw a vast landscape of collateral damage and stories that needed to be told. These were the stories that haunt me, and the ones that I wanted to share with the world.

Diana Li from China received her award from Ed Lewis, Director of Public Policy Communications for Toyota Motor North America, during the Annual Foreign Press Awards Ceremony on December 15, 2022, in New York.

You were recently awarded a scholarship from the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States. How did you feel about this recognition?

I feel super honored and grateful for the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents for giving help to us foreign journalists at a difficult time, when inflation and a stronger dollar makes lives for us foreign journalists living in the US really financially challenging. I will treasure this opportunity and try my best to produce great stories in my future career.

As a journalist, how do you expect your studies and the support from the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States to help you advance your career?

I hope to hone my journalistic skills through challenging studies at NYU’s business and economic reporting program. With systematic training in storytelling and a particular focus on business reporting, I hope to continue to be a voice for the voiceless through my work––and to keep telling stories of clashes between the vulnerable and the powerful not just in business, but in the world broadly. With the generous help from the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents USA, I will focus more on doing better stories without worrying about my financial situation in New York, and continue to make an impact to enlighten and educate my audiences through my fair and accurate reporting.

What made you decide to become a journalist? How do you hope to make an impact in the journalism field of your country of origin?

Over the past few years, I’ve been chasing some of the most important stories from Beijing, Hong Kong to New York, including the China-US trade war, Hong Kong’s real estate bubble, the Covid-19 outbreak, Europe’s energy crisis and Wall Street’s fear of a global recession. Working with the world's best journalists at the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, Reuters and Financial Times, I learned how to cultivate and interview sources, analyze business and economic data, write about complex topics under quick deadlines and use multimedia skills to enhance my storytelling.

While still young and eager to explore stories in New York and beyond, I have a keen interest in reporting business and finance stories driven by data. I will come back to join Bloomberg News as a full-time reporter after I graduate in January, where I will apply the skills I’ve learnt at journalism school to tell better stories.

As a foreign journalist, what defines your mission?

To be the first one to deliver crucial analytical information.

What do you think is the greatest threat to journalism today?

Right-extremism is posing a growing threat to the foundation of journalism, hindering our ability to do fair and accurate reporting to enlighten our audiences. The Covid-19 pandemic provided a breeding ground for conspiracy theories, disinformation and hateful extremism. Pandemics are inherently fast-moving and information is constantly evolving, creating opportunities for hateful extremist groups to spread doubt, fear and suspicion among the public. Forums such as Reddit are hubs for real-time debate, conspiracy theories and disinformation. Similarly, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube play a role in generating and amplifying false information.

What is the state of press freedom in your country of origin and how do you hope that your work will encourage more people to access independent and credible information

Throughout my past reporting journey, I realized there were many, far more important stories that were not being told about China’s economic rise. Behind this big picture were the difficult choices made by people like my grandfather, struggling to succeed and maneuver within a broken framework. These were, in effect, the vulnerable who struggled in the face of the powerful––tide players who rose and fell with the dispassionate tides of a sometimes-harsh business climate. In the midst of grand macroeconomic prosperity, I saw a vast landscape of collateral damage that needed to be unveiled. These are the stories that haunt me, and the stories that I want to tell the world.