Writing | Greta Lai

Interview with Founders of Cambridge Chinese Migration Studies Group

gretalai31

Sep 22, 20226 min read

Interview with Founders of Cambridge Chinese Migration Studies Group

Interview originally done for Young China Watchers on 20 September, 2022. The Cambridge Chinese Migration Studies Group (CCMSG) is an...

Interview with Yangkun Shi, Photographer/Visual Artist

gretalai31

Jul 7, 20227 min read

Interview with Yangkun Shi, Photographer/Visual Artist

Interview originally done for Young China Watchers on 6 July, 2022. Yangkun Shi is a young Chinese photographer who uses photography to...

Why Engagement with China Is Crucial in Turbulent Times like Now

gretalai31

Feb 13, 20223 min read

Why Engagement with China Is Crucial in Turbulent Times like Now

One would never have imagined accessing accurate information about China could be as difficult as it was 30 years ago during the time...

Interview with Malin Oud, Raoul Wallenberg Institute on Decoding China Dictionary

gretalai31

Nov 30, 20215 min read

Interview with Malin Oud, Raoul Wallenberg Institute on Decoding China Dictionary

Interview originally done for Young China Watchers on 29 November, 2021. Malin Oud is the director of the Stockholm office at the Raoul...

More than help: Realising dignity in overseas domestic work

gretalai31

Oct 25, 20213 min read

More than help: Realising dignity in overseas domestic work

Originally published at Routed Magazine on 23 October, 2021. There is a famous saying that goes, ‘you cannot understand someone until you...

gretalai31

Aug 3, 20215 min read

聯合國實習手記：亮馬河畔的120個日與夜

「猝不及防的事才是屢見不鮮，往往來不及待我準備妥當就已發生。」初到北京時，北京已經入秋了。那是2017年的九月，是我十六年以來第一個不用準備開學的九月。那時我剛從香港中文大學畢業，因收到聯合國的實習錄取通知，果斷選擇延遲碩士入學，來到聯合國北京的大樓開始為期四個月的實習。...

From WeChat to Clubhouse: The Chinese diaspora’s quest for free speech online

gretalai31

Jul 18, 20214 min read

From WeChat to Clubhouse: The Chinese diaspora’s quest for free speech online

Originally published at Routed Magazine on 14 July, 2021. With over 1.2 billion monthly active users worldwide, the Chinese app WeChat is...

Interview with Dr. Nicole Newendorp, Harvard University on Chinese Senior Migration to the U.S.

gretalai31

May 29, 20219 min read

Interview with Dr. Nicole Newendorp, Harvard University on Chinese Senior Migration to the U.S.

Interview originally done for Young China Watchers on 28 May, 2021. Dr. Nicole Newendorp is an anthropologist who studies migration and...

For women, China’s new divorce law is a step back for gender equality

gretalai31

May 1, 20213 min read

For women, China’s new divorce law is a step back for gender equality

Originally published at SCMP on 1 May, 2021. Chinese social media erupted recently over a Hunanese woman’s endless attempts to divorce...

Interview with Victor Shih and Young Yang, UC San Diego on CCP Elite Database

gretalai31

Mar 19, 20219 min read

Interview with Victor Shih and Young Yang, UC San Diego on CCP Elite Database

Interview originally done for Young China Watchers on 17 March, 2021. Victor Shih is an associate professor of political economy at the...

Thae Yong-ho: From North Korean defector to South Korean politician

gretalai31

Feb 22, 20214 min read

Thae Yong-ho: From North Korean defector to South Korean politician

Originally published at Routed Magazine on 20 February, 2021. Despite fears about COVID-19’s impact on the National Assembly elections in...

Interview with Fangrong Wu, Co-founder of 706 Youth Space

gretalai31

Jan 2, 20216 min read

Interview with Fangrong Wu, Co-founder of 706 Youth Space

Interview originally done for Young China Watchers on 2 January, 2021. Fangrong Wu, born in the 80s, is a co-founder of 706 Youth Space –...

Dealing with Maternity Leave as a Migrant Domestic Worker

gretalai31

Dec 22, 20203 min read

Dealing with Maternity Leave as a Migrant Domestic Worker

Originally published at Human Asia’s East Asia Young Activists Networking Program (EAYAN) Blog on 22 December, 2020. Hong Kong is finally...

gretalai31

Nov 1, 202010 min read

Revisiting Glorified Motherhood

Mongolia’s Order of Glorious Motherhood and its Impact on Sex and Sexuality Originally published in Issue 3 at CUriosity in Fall 2020....

Scapegoating Hong Kong’s minorities over Covid-19 is dangerous – here’s how to avoid it

gretalai31

Jun 4, 20203 min read

Scapegoating Hong Kong’s minorities over Covid-19 is dangerous – here’s how to avoid it

Originally published at Hong Kong Free Press on 4 June, 2020. The outbreak of Covid-19 has led to growing xenophobic sentiment against...

Emigration is not meant for everybody, especially the middle class

gretalai31

May 26, 20204 min read

Emigration is not meant for everybody, especially the middle class

The idea of emigration is pervasive in Hong Kong, especially after Beijing announced new national security law for Hong Kong. The said...

What Hongkongers can learn from Kafka’s The Castle

gretalai31

May 4, 20204 min read

What Hongkongers can learn from Kafka’s The Castle

A good book can always provide insight, comfort, and a delightful escape. At home practising social distancing, I recently picked up a...

How the coronavirus crisis will affect Hong Kong’s migration dynamics

gretalai31

Apr 12, 20203 min read

How the coronavirus crisis will affect Hong Kong’s migration dynamics

Originally published at SCMP on 12 April, 2020. The spring of 2020 has been a season of despair, as the news of people dying from...

Ten days with Fuerdai and what I have come to realise

gretalai31

Apr 1, 20197 min read

Ten days with Fuerdai and what I have come to realise

Rich Chinese Millennials Navigating Through the Dark Abyss of Loneliness and Comparison Originally published in Issue 2 at CUriosity in...

gretalai31

Sep 13, 20182 min read

Iranian hospitality

Three girls approached me at the Naqsh-e Jahan Square and said “do you want tour guides? We hope to practice English.” I hesitated for a...

Well-Poised -- Understanding daily life through the lens of liveability and sustainability

gretalai31

Apr 1, 20187 min read

Well-Poised -- Understanding daily life through the lens of liveability and sustainability

Originally published in Issue 1 at CUriosity in Spring 2018. “Heaven on Earth is a choice we must make, not a place we must find.”, said...

Beijing in snow - 4.5 months at the United Nations Development Programme

gretalai31

Jan 31, 20184 min read

Beijing in snow - 4.5 months at the United Nations Development Programme

The past 4 months and a half has been the most amazing experience I have had in my life. I can’t be more thankful to the Peace...