Sophia Yan is an award-winning senior foreign correspondent for the Telegraph, based in Istanbul.
She is the host of several documentaries and narrative podcasts that investigate global human rights abuses and transnational repression, including “Inside Xinjiang,” on China’s crackdown against the Uyghurs; “How To Become a Dictator,” about the rise of Chinese leader Xi Jinping; and “Hong Kong Silenced,” on how an entire city was muzzled in just one year.
Sophia’s investigations have exposed human smuggling and trafficking, illicit weapons transfers, war crimes, terrorist financing, militant networks, and sanctions evasions, with reporting contributing to international sanctions, asset freezes, and law enforcement investigations, charges, and arrests.
Her reporting revealed Chinese government suppression of Covid-19 death tolls at the start of the pandemic, including the country’s first lawsuit over the issue, prompting international scrutiny amid state efforts to silence whistleblowers.
Sophia received the Marie Colvin Award for her coverage of China, where she was based for a decade, during which she was routinely detained, harassed, and assaulted by the authorities for her reporting.
Prior to the Telegraph, Sophia was an on-air correspondent for CNBC, where she led live coverage from Tiananmen Square, the World Economic Forum, Boao Forum, Belt & Road Forum; and interviewed AI futurist Kai-Fu Lee, director Zhang Yimou, actor Jackie Chan, as well as CEOs and senior executives from Google DeepMind, Huawei, Sinopec, Xiaomi, ZTE, and Inter Milan.
She covered business and government for CNN and Bloomberg, and has been based in Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei, Washington DC, and Honolulu, with a stint in Tokyo as an Abe Journalist Fellow. She began her career at Time Magazine in 2009.
Sophia is a regular speaker and moderator, including at the Oxford Literary Festival, Oslo Freedom Forum, and the Asian American Journalists Association N3Con. She is on the board of NüVoices, a non-profit global collective of China experts, and a host on its bi-weekly podcast.
When Sophia isn’t busy reporting, she is tickling another kind of keyboard. An accomplished classical pianist, Sophia has won several competitions and performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Fontainebleau Chateau, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong Fringe Club, and Aspen Music Festival.
She is the co-founder/director and pianist of Western District, an experimental chamber collective, and founding pianist for the “Lawfare” and “Rational Security” podcasts. She has premiered more than 100 works by living composers, including pieces she commissioned with external grant support.
The New York Times has described her as a performer whose “music literally pulls her off the piano bench; she ranges up and down the keyboard so quickly and with such ferocity that mere sitting will not do.”
Sophia’s unique journalism-music blend landed her on The Loop HK’s “30 under 30” list in 2016, and her dedication to performing tango music was featured on CNN Español.
She graduated in 2009 from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music with a B.A. in English, with Honors, and a B.Mus. in piano performance. She is a certified yoga instructor specializing in therapeutic approaches for trauma survivors and people with terminal illnesses or chronic health issues.
