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Melissa Chan

@melissakchan.bsky.social
8.8K followers 376 following 1.5K posts

Emmy-nominated reporter. Russia Today called me “notorious,” China kicked me out. Formerly Asia, Doha, California, more 🌏. Author of graphic novel YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION out now!

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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 15h
Some 📸 snaps by Anna Kucera (plus one from @badiucao.bsky.social!) from our session at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney just a few weeks ago. Thanks again for everyone who came out! Grab your copy of YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION in bookshops across Australia!
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 16h
A reminder the Montreal International Security Summit by @migsinstitute.bsky.social is later this month. It's shaping up to be a very excellent line-up!
migsinstitute.org
Montreal International Security Summit 2026 - MIGS
The Montreal International Security Summit is a high-level international convening co-hosted by the Montreal Institute for Global Security (MIGS) and the
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I first read Helen Gao's essays when I was posted in Beijing — almost 15 years ago at this point. She has always been one of the most thoughtful writers on Chinese society. This piece is not different:
nytimes.com
Opinion | Economic Strain Is Pitting China’s People Against One Another
Unable to question the government, the Chinese are taking their economic frustrations out on their fellow citizens.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I am loooooooving this novel by Eve J. Chung, about Chinese American war correspondent Ellie Chang, set during the Korean War. Gosh, if there was ever a book that felt like it was written just for me (!!), this is it! THE YOUNG WILL REMEMBER — grab your copy! 💛
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Kathi Zellweger made ~70+ trips to North Korea over decades, and even lived there for five years. She has a book out now — MISS KATHI — and this CNN segment shares never-before-seen footage she captured off her camcorder over the years. 🔗 bit.ly/cnn-kathi
bit.ly
What North Korean life is actually like beyond Pyongyang
A Swiss aid worker’s never-before-seen footage reveals decades of life inside North Korea. Kathi Zellweger’s rare access allowed her to capture famine-era hardship, private moments and a side of the country few outsiders have witnessed. 0:00 The secret lives of North Korea 1:02 Who is Kathi Zellweger? 5:01 Former CNN Beijing bureau chief on Kathi Zellweger's unusual access to North Korea 8:32 Inside a Catholic church in North Korea 10:00 Driving in North Korea For more of this, subscribe to stream on the CNN app: https://cnn.it/4zpecHE #NorthKorea #Korea #News
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"Trump ist einer der talentiertesten Propagandisten unserer Zeit. Er setzt staatliche Gewalt, Korruption und praktisch alle klassischen Instrumente des autoritären Repertoires ein." A Q&A in @zeitonline.bsky.social with @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social:
zeit.de
Autokratie: »Amerika wird aus dieser Phase als stärkere Demokratie hervorgehen«
Donald Trump ist ein autoritärer Herrscher im Niedergang, sagt die US-Historikerin Ruth Ben-Ghiat. Das mache ihn noch gefährlicher. Hoffnung aber gebe es dennoch.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Given the turmoil in the news industry this year, here’s a snippet from last spring (2025) during our US book tour — on comms with audiences and the need to meet people where they’re at, on social media (for better or worse!), or in my case via comics and our book YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🇦🇺 Australia! From meeting Masha Alyokhina of Pussy Riot, or getting an 💩 enshittification pin from Cory Doctorow himself — to of course those who attended our YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION book events! Thank you for your support and the engaging, interesting chats with so many of you!
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Fantastic read by Geoffrey Cain, who describes AI billionaires as wanting to be both "the prophets of doom and the saviors of humanity."
spectator.com
Beware of billionaires touting the apocalypse
Cassandra was a princess, daughter of King Priam of Troy. Apollo gave her the power to see the future and, when she rejected his advances, arranged that no one would ever believe her. She warned the T...
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The only time I believe in authoritarianism is when the passenger next to me for a long-haul flight clearly has a cold and isn’t wearing a mask because who cares about everyone else. That’s when I wish I was king of the castle and masks should be mandatory if you’re infectious.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Can’t remember what exactly Maria Ressa and I are laughing about here — but she is a delight and inspiration for people around the world. Green room at an ideas fest. 📸 Snaps from my co-author Badiucao, during our Australia tour. I’m running off to our next book interview, and to ABC Radio next.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I was based in California as a reporter, grew up there, and continue to spend a lot of time there. I think this deal will kill any chance Rob Bonta ever has of becoming a future governor of California, even though he likely believes he's doing it to save in-state jobs.
hollywoodreporter.com
There’s a Deal, Now It’s All About the Details. Paramount, 12 States to Settle Warner Bros. Fight
The agreement is expected to be announced later Monday (on Yom Kippur, no less).
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I had the chance to meet Ussama Makdisi, author of the upcoming book, ANTI-PALESTINIANISM, at an ideas festival in Australia. He and his brothers have a podcast named Makdisi Street you should check out! 🔗 Link to the AU-related episode: apple.co/4rr02m3
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
📚 Some folks who follow me have written a nonfiction book — or want to. This piece by Sean deLone, editor at Atria / Simon & Schuster, is a must-read about the present state of the nonfiction book market and why it's collapsing: dearheadofmine.substack.com/p/the-nonfiction-book-market-is-collapsing
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Reading how scientists have created lab mice whose brains are filled with millions of human neurons and all I can think about is the 1980s film THE SECRET OF NIMH about the intelligent rodents who escape their lab anybody else remember that animated film?!
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
🇨🇳 An important report from @chrdnet.bsky.social on prisoner torture in China. Grisly feature: denying medical care as a way of indirectly killing people — getting away with murder. For the Chinamaxxing whataboutists: yes, US ICE has cases also. Doesn't make either okay! 🔗 bit.ly/chrd-torture-2026
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Some 30 human rights organizations have written an open letter to Xi Jinping ahead of his DC visit to — among other things — "release prisoners of conscience, human rights defenders, and those arbitrarily detained for family members’ activism." 🔗 bit.ly/xi-letter-2026
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
MUST-READ: When we look back, authors @bequelin.bsky.social and @yaqiu.bsky.social argue that the most consequential foreign policy failure of Trump's administration will be on China, not with Iran and the Middle East.
foreignpolicy.com
China, Not Iran, Is Trump’s Real Foreign-Policy Debacle
In 19 months, Washington has lost ground to Beijing on every conceivable front.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Funny thing is Trump makes a comment similar to what Hasan Piker might say about China. In any case while the US is a dumpster fire right now, this stuff is false equivalency and honestly not helpful for the civil liberties / human rights of people in either country.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Murong Xuecun (慕容 雪村) is one of China’s most compelling contemporary writers. His work is marked not only by literary daring, but by extraordinary personal courage. We are so moved by his words about YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION, and are honored he provided a blurb for our Australian edition.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Sydney! We have signed copies of YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION at Kinokuniya! Available in-store or online! 🔗 australia.kinokuniya.com/bw/9781761827891
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
🇦🇺 Dan Ilic — @danilic.bsky.social — is one of Australia’s sharpest satirical voices — a comedian, broadcaster, and producer who uses comedy to take on everything from politics to climate change. We're so glad he loved YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION and was willing to blurb our graphic novel! 🙏
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
🇦🇺 Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert was imprisoned in Iran for almost three years. Since her release in 2020, she has become a fierce advocate for people wrongfully detained by autocracies. I can’t thank Kylie enough for her words about YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION. Thank you. 💛
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
An important book is out today from Derf Backderf. I read THE DISSIDENTS in January, at the height of the Minneapolis protests. I found the contemporary parallels to 1916 America unnerving. Congrats to Derf and Abrams Comic Carts for this must-read. We're honored to blurb it — GO BUY THE BOOK!
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
🇦🇺 Cheng Lei, who spent more than three years in prison in China, is a powerful voice in Australia on resilience and the human cost of authoritarianism. Her endorsement of our book couldn’t have meant more. Thank you so much for blurbing YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION. 💛
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
🇭🇺 "This is a real reckoning, aimed at dismantling the machinery of power that sustained illiberal rule. But dismantling that machinery is not the same as undoing the distribution of wealth it produced." Great guest essay by Kristóf Szombati via @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social:
lucid.substack.com
Hungary’s Half-Turn
The new government is dismantling the economic machinery of Orbánism. But that is not the same as remaking the order that made it durable.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
🇦🇺 Cathy Wilcox — @cathywilcox.bsky.social — is one of Australia’s most prominent political cartoonists. A brave woman and wonderful mentor to the creative community, we were so happy and humbled to receive Cathy's endorsement. Thank you for blurbing YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION!
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Reposted by Melissa Chan
Kate Devlin @drkatedevlin.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Shutting down conversations about the Bayeux Tapestry by telling them "I'm not really into embroidery".
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
🇦🇺 YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION received praise from some of Australia's top thinkers. We'll be sharing their blurbs over the next week. Starting with @louisalim.bsky.social, author of the Stella Prize shortlisted INDELIBLE CITY. Louisa's an inspiration, and we’re grateful for the blurb!
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
It’s hard to explain to anyone younger what a singular, narrative through line it’s been from 9/11 to today, that the story felt like it began that day and it hasn’t ever ended. We graduated into a changed country and world, into the widening gyre.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Now that enough folks have watched THE ODYSSEY, I want to say that I feel Elliot Page fulfills the same role / purpose in the film as Vanessa Redgrave did in ATONEMENT — and both did it spectacularly. IYKYK.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The Huawei trial begins this week. Canada had a role, arresting Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on a US warrant. Ottawa faced significant backlash from China for this — something to remember when this US admin says Canada doesn't pull its weight. By Pak Yiu:
asia.nikkei.com
China's Huawei heads to trial in US over sanctions and trade secrets
8 years after first allegations, jury selection in conglomerate's case to begin Tuesday
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
It's not just Chinese EVs challenging EU cars. LEGO has a Guangzhou-based competitor, Lumibricks. In many ways it's more innovative than LEGO... but its Neoncity data tower where "citizen behavior is constantly being analyzed" isn't even trying to hide techno-autocracy LMAO. 1/3
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Thank you Australian National University for the Canberra welcome! Our YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION talk with John Garnaut was a great reunion, since I hadn’t seen John in many years when we were both Beijing-based foreign correspondents. ⬇️ Full recording in replies.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
🇹🇼 Taiwan! Berlin-based pianist Tomasz Kamieniak will be in Taipei and Kaohsiung in October, playing an interesting Liszt and Alkan program. Check him out! 🎫 www.opentix.life/event/207332...
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My first Cohiba was in Havana in 2001, when I was an undergraduate collecting oral histories of Chinese in Cuba. What a story about Cuba's cigar industry and its connection to a Chinese billionaire based in Cambodia.
ft.com
The mysterious billionaire and Cuba’s cigar industry
With Chinese-Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi as an investor, Cohibas became ultra-luxury symbols — then things came crashing down for the billionaire
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
"Americans are not accustomed to learning lessons about democracy from Nigeria, Peru, or the Philippines... Those countries offer examples of what it looks like to reclaim stolen or swindled wealth from fallen authoritarian rulers." Must-read by @davidfrum.bsky.social:
theatlantic.com
What Might Happen to Trump’s Ill-Gotten Gains
Lessons from fallen autocrats
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Come to Cartoons Day and the European Cartoon Award at The Hague this November! Two-time Pulitzer winner Ann Telnaes (who resigned from The Washington Post after a Bezos cartoon got canned) will be the guest of honor. 🔗 REGISTER: bit.ly/eca26-denhaag
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Congrats to Lin AbiRafeh! Her new book is out today: FEMINIST FIRESTARTER: ACTIVISM FOR AN UNRAVELING WORLD. "There are four billion women in the world, yet we still have to argue for equality." Grab your copy — we all need this book! 🔗 bit.ly/lina-firestarter
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
🇨🇦🌏 The Montreal Institute for Global Security — @migsinstitute.bsky.social — and McGill are holding a one-day conference next week: "Canada and the International Use of Force Regime."
bit.ly
Canada and the International Use of Force Regime - MIGS
Preserving, Reforming, and Rebuilding the Rules-Based Order
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The political developments in Germany are significant, but part of me also feels some of the headlines have been a bit too hysterical (now I'm waiting for the most German thing to happen — some German to scold me). But Saxony-Anhalt is sort of like Germany's Alabama.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
🎬 Our Melbourne book event was at Cinema Nova, so the lighting was a little dark, but here’s a B&W snap in keeping with the setting. Thank you Natasha Mitchell for the thoughtful conversation and to Readings Books as our partner for the signing after!
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
🇲🇽🇺🇸 Canada stood up to Trump. What’s Mexico’s plan? There generally isn't enough attention paid to Mexico-US relations from the perspective of Mexico, and US TV media almost always focuses on drugs / cartels. My video segment with Alex González Ormerod on what cards President Claudia Sheinbaum holds.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I've waited all my life for Pocari Sweat to expand in the US and Europe. Not kidding — sharp eyes will even notice a nod to the drink in my graphic novel YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION (find that Easter egg!):
asia.nikkei.com
Pocari Sweat maker views US, Europe heat waves as way to expand
Japan's Otsuka has world leaders Gatorade and Powerade in its sights
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Reposted by Melissa Chan
derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
this is the kind of design costume designers make to tell you who are the bad guys in a space movie
Donald Trump posts an image on his Truth Social account. It shows a new uniform for US Space Force members, comprising of an all-black outfit with knee-high black leather boots, black cap, and minimalist looking suit.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
So good to meet Cheng Lei for the first time, and I'm grateful for the thought-provoking conversation she led at the Australian Institute of International Affairs Victoria's event for our graphic novel, YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION. Thank you for the Melbourne welcome!
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
🇦🇺 It was great to bring YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION to Australia's ABC! We’d already been on its GLOBAL ROAMING program, so can’t thank the broadcaster enough for all the coverage!
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
"The education I received in America turned a Tanzanian teenager into the founder of a company that answers to American investors. Then the government closed its doors to me." Powerful piece from Benjamin Fernandes, founder and CEO of NALA:
nytimes.com
Opinion | Trump Ended My American Dream
America has closed its doors to too many students and entrepreneurs.
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Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
In many parts of the world, it would be unfathomable that a country's military would have an independent newsroom to hold that military to account. @starsandstripes.bsky.social, which led coverage on the USS Abraham Lincoln, is the kind of institution that makes America great:
stripes.com
USS Abraham Lincoln arrives in Thailand for first full port visit after 286 days at sea
The port call is the Lincoln’s first in nearly nine months during a patrol that’s included 208 consecutive days at sea and concerns about conditions on board.
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Reposted by Melissa Chan
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
My prediction is that we will never have enough CO₂ removal (CDR), so overshoot is not a thing. We will hit 1.5°C global warming by 2030, and every tonne of CO₂ we emit will make the world warmer. Where we stop is entirely up to us, but there’s no dialing down the temperature after that.
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