Edward Wong—At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China

Join us on March 13th for an insightful discussion with Edward Wong on his memoir, At the Edge of Empire: A Family's Reckoning with China. Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times, shares his family's journey from rural China to urban America, set against the backdrop of China's rise as a global power. The memoir intertwines his father's experiences in the People's Liberation Army under Mao Zedong, his eventual disillusionment, and his escape to Hong Kong, with Wong's own perspective as a foreign correspondent in Beijing.

Wong explores themes of identity, memory, and the shifting dynamics of U.S.-China relations, offering a unique lens into China's political evolution. Through personal stories, he provides a nuanced understanding of China's transformation and its global impact.

Pre-order a book here for $25 or purchase a copy at the event for $30 and get it signed by Edward following the program.

Make sure you arrive by 5:30 pm to join us for a glass of wine!

About Our Speaker

Edward Wong is a diplomatic correspondent at The New York Times who reports on foreign policy from Washington, D.C. He has worked for the Times for more than 20 years, reporting for 13 years as an international correspondent and bureau chief from China and Iraq. As Beijing bureau chief, he ran the Times’ largest overseas operation. He has reported from dozens of countries, including Afghanistan, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Mongolia, Uganda, and Ukraine.

Wong has been a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and has taught at Princeton University as a Ferris Professor of Journalism. He is an associate at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Wong serves on the advisory board of the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. He has taught at the Aspen Institute.

Wong is the recipient of the Livingston Prize for his reporting from Iraq, and he is a member of a Baghdad bureau team that was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. He received a prize for environmental reporting from The Society of Publishers in Asia for stories on China’s pollution crisis and shared a prize in feature writing from the same organization for a series on China’s global influence. He was on the Times team that received an award for best documentary project from Pictures of the Year International for a series on global climate change migrants. The project was also nominated for an Emmy Award. He has a prize from the Associated Press Sports Editors.

About Our Moderator

Heather Yang Hwalek is a senior program officer for global policy and advocacy at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She previously held roles in the foundation’s communications division and the office of the chief executive officer. Before joining the Gates Foundation, Ms. Hwalek was a foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of State, where she served in U.S. Embassies in Tokyo and Pretoria and the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, in addition to the Office of the Secretary and additional roles in Washington, DC. She is an alumna of the Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship. Ms. Hwalek holds an MA in international relations from Yale University and a BA in anthropology from Columbia University.

Amazon is an underwriting sponsor of all World Affairs Council Community Programs.