The American Mandarin Society is proud to announce the selection of its Next-Generation Journalists for 2023. We received an overwhelming number of talented writers who are developing careers covering China, and our only regret is that we could not select more than four for this year.
The AMS Next-Generation Journalist Program is designed to support promising young writers through tailored mentorships with renowned journalists. We hope that this program brings new and original voices to the public discourse of China and U.S.-China relations and aids these journalists in further developing their careers.
Congratulations to Jacob Kessler, Jordyn Haime, Arthur Kaufman, and Alexander Boyd! We are excited to hear their stories over this next year and support them in their future endeavors. We also want to recognize and thank our 2023 mentors, Richard McGregor, Alexa Olesen, Keith Richburg, and Melissa Chan for their dedication to fostering the next generation of China-focused writers.
Fellows
Arthur Kaufman is an editor at China Digital Times, and an editorial assistant for the Made in China Journal and Global China Pulse. Previously, he worked as a Global Writing and Speaking Fellow at NYU Shanghai and interned at Foreign Affairs Magazine. His interests lie in global China, particularly China’s relations with Africa and Europe. Based in Paris, Arthur has a dual-master’s degree in human rights and international relations from Sciences Po and Peking University.
Jordyn Haime is a freelance journalist based in Taipei, Taiwan. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2020 with degrees in journalism and international affairs. As a 2021 Fulbright fellow in Taiwan, she researched and wrote about Taiwanese-Jewish relations and the history of Judaism in Taiwan for her project, Jewish Taiwan Archive.
As a journalist, her interests include society, identity and democracy in Taiwan, cross-strait relations, and Jewish issues in Asia. Her work has appeared in The China Project, Nikkei Asia, Al Jazeera, South China Morning Post, Haaretz, The Times of Israel and more.
Jacob Kessler is a freelance journalist based in South America. Previously, he worked as the Communications Director at Students for a Free Tibet, where he led the NGO’s media outreach and social media. He has also worked as a Research Assistant at Aaron Halegua, PLLC, where he conducted in-depth research on labor rights on China’s Belt and Road infrastructure projects.
Jacob is a 2018 graduate of the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College. A double major in Political Science and Chinese, he studied abroad in Beijing as a David L. Boren Scholar and volunteered at the Beijing LGBT Center. He speaks Chinese, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Alexander Boyd is currently based in Washington, D.C. He is a Senior Editor at China Digital Times, where he covers censorship and society. He previously served in Peace Corps China, teaching English at a university in Bijie, Guizhou. He is an aspiring foreign correspondent with interests in the workings of the Party, ideology, history, and social movements in China. He holds a B.A. in History and Asian Studies from Vanderbilt University.
Mentors
Former Washington and Beijing Bureau Chief for The Financial Times, and author of the books The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers and, most recently, Asia’s Reckoning: China, Japan, and the Fate of U.S. Power in the Pacific Century
Director of the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong, and spent more than 20 years overseas for The Washington Post. In 2022, Richburg joined Washington Post Opinions as a Global Opinions columnist.
Director of Research at China Six, lead reporter/writer of China-focused stories for The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ award-winning China Leaks and Panama Papers projects, author of Pen America’s Censorship and Conscience: Foreign Authors and the Challenge of Chinese Censorship, and former correspondent for The Associated Press in Singapore and Beijing
Emmy-nominated print and television journalist based between Los Angeles and Berlin, focusing on transnational issues, often involving China’s influence beyond its borders, as well as the rise of global authoritarianism and ebb of democracies. Formerly with Al Jazeera and published in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Time, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, and more.
