Timothy McLaughlin

Hong Kong

Freelance Journalist at Freelance

Contributing Writer at The Atlantic

Contributing writer @TheAtlantic. Co-author of Among the Braves. No opinions, only typos: https://t.co/EsSkCFz9Ap

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Articles

Chinese Transnational Repression Is a Real Issue-but Shujun Wang Is a Bad Example

1 week ago | thenation.com | Timothy McLaughlin

Politics / June 17, 2025 Chinese Transnational Repression Is a Real Issue—but Shujun Wang Is a Bad ExampleOur government spent almost a decade chasing a professor they thought was a spy. The case raises questions about our ability to pursue real perpetrators of China’s crimes. Ad Policy Shujun Wang on 60 Minutes. (YouTube) On May 18, viewers of 60 Minutes were promised a show that would reveal the depths of Chinese surveillance in the United States.
Foreign Correspondence, Vol 105

Sep 20, 2024 | foreigncorrespondence.substack.com | Timothy McLaughlin |John Hudson |Olivia Nuzzi |Yasmeen Serhan

Hello, and happy Friday. This correspondence comes to you following a brief holiday, a bout of illness, and a major escalation in the Middle East involving *checks notes* exploding pagers. Needless to say, it’s been a week—and I’ll be keeping the top of this edition nice and short. There are still more questions than answers surrounding the deadly pager explosions in Lebanon, where as of this writing at least 20 people have been killed and thousands more wounded.
The fast-fashion brand’s shadowy CEO has staged a staggering takeover of retail

Sep 11, 2024 | afr.com | Timothy McLaughlin

Timothy McLaughlinSep 12, 2024 – 5.00am or Subscribe to save articleEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? If you’ve ever bought anything from the fast-fashion company Shein, you know that its marketing can feel inescapable.
The Mysterious, Meteoric Rise of Shein

Sep 6, 2024 | theatlantic.com | Timothy McLaughlin

Listen1.0x0:0034:13Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (NOA) using AI narration. If you’ve ever bought anything from the fast-fashion company Shein, you know that its marketing can feel inescapable. Shein’s website, a digital bazaar bursting with pop-up ads and strobing discounts, lists thousands of new items every day—clothes, housewares, pet supplies, cosmetics, sex toys—at inconceivably low prices: $16.08 for a powder-blue suit, $3.80 for a three-pack of aviator sunglasses.
When the Press Turns Its Back on Press Freedom

Jul 17, 2024 | msn.com | Timothy McLaughlin

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A Small Island Amid Major Tension

Jun 16, 2024 | theatlantic.com | Timothy McLaughlin

On Thitu, a tiny dot of coral reef and palm trees in the South China Sea about 300 miles off the coast of the Philippines, the inaugural Mrs. Kalayaan Pageant was the event of the night, the week, and quite possibly the month. When I was there in May, the entire island’s population, some 250 people, seemed to have gathered around a nautical-themed stage to see who would win the sash and crown. You might think that a local beauty contest would not involve geopolitics. You would be wrong.
The Great Democratic Success Story That Wasn’t

Apr 3, 2024 | theatlantic.com | Timothy McLaughlin

America can’t deliver Myanmar from its dictatorship, but it can do more than shift the burden and look away. The Obama administration seemed to take special pride in its policy toward Myanmar.
The Hong Kong Activist Who Called Washington’s Bluff

Nov 4, 2023 | newyorkfolk.com | James White |Shibani Mahtani |Timothy McLaughlin |Rod Stewart

On the morning of June 30, 2020, Joshua Wong walked into an office tower called the St. John’s Building, directly across the street from the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong. He carried nothing but his cellphone. The repressive machinery of mainland China was closing in on the city where he had spent almost half of his young life fighting for democracy, and though for six years he had curated an image as a fearless international icon, that morning, Wong felt panicked.
The Hong Kong Activist Who Called Washington’s Bluff

Nov 3, 2023 | hongkongnewsnetwork.com | Timothy McLaughlin |Shibani Mahtani

On the morning of June 30, 2020, Joshua Wong walked into an office tower called the St. John’s Building, directly across the street from the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong. He carried nothing but his cellphone. The repressive machinery of mainland China was closing in on the city where he had spent almost half of his young life fighting for democracy, and though for six years he had curated an image as a fearless international icon, that morning, Wong felt panicked.
The Fracturing of Hong Kong’s Democracy Movement

Jul 15, 2023 | msn.com | Timothy McLaughlin

Andrew Chiu, a prodemocracy district councilor in Hong Kong, was attempting to stop a knife-wielding assailant from attacking protesters in November 2019 when the attacker broke free and lunged at him. The man pulled Chiu close in a belligerent embrace, sank his teeth into Chiu’s left ear, then snapped his head back and, as Chiu reached up to find blood spilling from his head, spat a sinuous chunk of flesh onto the brick sidewalk. An attempt to reattach Chiu’s ear was unsuccessful.