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Viola Zhou

@violazhou.bsky.social
659 followers 107 following 33 posts

Reporter at @restofworld.org Covering tech, AI, and manufacturing 📍Hong Kong to New York 📧viola@restofworld.org

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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
AI trainers come up with realistic work tasks, upload documents from their actual jobs, and write down their thought process. “If I don't pass my knowledge to AI, others will,” says a law graduate teaching AI to act like lawyers and judges. restofworld.org/2026/china-e...
restofworld.org
Now it’s China’s experts who are gig workers training AI
Squeezed by a stagnant economy and state directives, China's underemployed lawyers, architects, and engineers are taking cheap gig work to teach AI their exact trades — just to pay this month's mortga...
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
NEW: A Chinese architect saw her income halve because of a drop in state infrastructure projects. So she became an AI trainer. Like in the US, more Chinese professionals are taking up data gigs in a tough job market, passing their expertise to AI. restofworld.org/2026/china-e...
restofworld.org
Now it’s China’s experts who are gig workers training AI
Squeezed by a stagnant economy and state directives, China's underemployed lawyers, architects, and engineers are taking cheap gig work to teach AI their exact trades — just to pay this month's mortga...
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
For my latest feature, I wrote about the Chinese math kids turned AI superstars: their (and my) STEM education, their allegedly boring life, aspirations for an AI-powered world, and anxieties over money and politics. restofworld.org/2026/chinese... via @restofworld.org
restofworld.org
The Chinese whiz kids of Silicon Valley
Chinese-born tech workers have fueled Silicon Valley for decades. In the AI era, they're superstars.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
In our chat, Hu talked about creative writing as a way to escape the cog-in-the-machine daily life, being one of the luckiest writers, and his hope of building empathy between Chinese and Americans. restofworld.org/2025/hu-anya...
restofworld.org
“I Deliver Parcels in Beijing”: Chinese literary sensation reaches U.S.
Hu Anyan, a former courier who wrote a best-selling book about the grueling job of delivering packages, discusses life, technology, and the future of work.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Really happy I got to speak with Hu Anyan about the English translation of his best-selling book, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing. It’s a deeply captivating read that immerses readers in the repetitive, grueling days of a worker in a Chinese metropolis. restofworld.org/2025/hu-anya...
restofworld.org
“I Deliver Parcels in Beijing”: Chinese literary sensation reaches U.S.
Hu Anyan, a former courier who wrote a best-selling book about the grueling job of delivering packages, discusses life, technology, and the future of work.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
Very glad to see my story on AI and medicine printed in the Guardian this week! If you haven’t read it: restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
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Reposted by Viola Zhou
Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅 @zeyiyang.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
In college, I'd always walk past an unremarkable store in Beijing that sold a variety of trendy, but tacky, toys. That store has turned into Pop Mart, the $45-billion Chinese toy empire behind Labubu, the biggest global fad of 2025. This is my big story/pilgrimage trip to explain how they got here
wired.com
A Journey Into the Heart of Labubu
I made an epic trek across four countries to answer one question: Why is the world going mad for a plushie monster?
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Data & Society @datasociety.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
“DeepSeek is so much better than doctors.” @violazhou.bsky.social is unsettled by the way her mother, a kidney transplant patient in eastern China, relies on an AI chatbot for health advice. But she also recognizes that the bigger problem is a systemic one. restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
restofworld.org
My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
In this personal essay (my first for @restofworld.org), I explore patients’ relationship with AI, why chatbots can’t yet replace doctors, the caretaking burden on my one-child generation, and the tech industry that promises to ease our struggles. restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
restofworld.org
My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
Not long after DeepSeek R1 launched, I discovered that my mother had started using the chatbot as her virtual doctor. I worried about her reliance on AI. But over time, I realized Dr. DeepSeek was offering something no human in her life could. restofworld.org/2025/ai-chat...
restofworld.org
My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
With 128 GPUs, Mongolian startup Egune AI is training large-language models tailored to Mongolian language, culture, and nomadic traditions. Story on why small nations are building their own LLMs despite limited resources restofworld.org/2025/mongoli... via @restofworld.org
restofworld.org
The Mongolian startup defying Big Tech with its own LLM
Egune is one of several linguistically and culturally aware AI models built by smaller nations to reduce reliance on American and Chinese tech giants.
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Rina Chandran @rinachandran.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Sendo’s online grocery delivery business is encouraging Vietnamese housewives, store owners, and anyone else with unused fridge space to become a grocery distribution and pickup center, reports @lamle52.bsky.social for @restofworld.org restofworld.org/2025/sendo-f...
restofworld.org
How do you compete with Chinese e-commerce giants? A Vietnamese company is deploying housewives
Sendo, once poised to become Vietnam’s leading e-commerce company, is reinventing itself to survive against TikTok Shop and Shopee.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
While talking to logistics people, I learned that many non-Chinese brands, including American ones, also use de minimis to ship into the US. They will have to pay high tariffs as long as the goods are made in China. like this Canadian underwear store has to stop US shipping.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
With the de minimis change coming up, some Americans are spending thousands of $$ placing “last orders” on Temu, Shein, AliExpress. “I am stocking up on everything I think I will need over the next two to three years.” restofworld.org/2025/temu-sh... via @restofworld.org
restofworld.org
Chinese sellers and U.S. buyers prepare for the end of ultracheap shopping
Temu and Shein are set to raise prices ahead of the de minimis loophole’s closure.
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Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅 @zeyiyang.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
NEW: It's not just e-commerce. So much of US businesses rely on China for manufacturing, and Trump's tariff peek-a-boo is leaving them in limbo. I talked to a dozen+ American businesses from mom&pop shops to $100m-revenue brands to unpack why tariffs won't magically bring factories back to the US.
wired.com
Why It’s Impossible for Most Small Businesses to Manufacture in the US
American companies that make everything from keychains to mattresses say Chinese manufacturing is superior, and tariffs won’t be enough to shift production to the United States.
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Fan Wenxin @xinwenfan.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Must-read feature that would have shined in any news magazine, by @violazhou.bsky.social who braved the Michigan snowstorm to bring us a documentary movie-style story of a Chinese EV business in America! restofworld.org/2025/gotion-...
restofworld.org
How a Chinese battery factory sparked a political meltdown in a small Michigan town
The ambitious executives at Gotion wanted to join America’s EV gold rush. Then came geopolitics.
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Reposted by Viola Zhou
Camille Bromley @chameauleon.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
I chatted with @violazhou.bsky.social at @restofworld.org about how she covers the Chinese tech industry. We talked DeepSeek, tariffs, and AI competition for @columjournreview.bsky.social www.cjr.org/the_media_to...
cjr.org
Q&A: Viola Zhou on the Challenge of Covering Chinese Tech
The Trump administration thinks of Chinese tech as a dangerous rival to Silicon Valley. How do Chinese companies see it?
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The Sunday Long Read @thesundaylongread.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
Viola Zhou (@violazhou.bsky.social) spent months tracking Chinese EV battery maker Gotion and its efforts to open a Michigan factory. The result is a modern political allegory with few simple solutions. @jacobfeldman.bsky.social & @dvnjr.bsky.social's favorite restofworld.org/2025/gotion-...
restofworld.org
How a Chinese battery factory sparked a political meltdown in a small Michigan town
The ambitious executives at Gotion wanted to join America’s EV gold rush. Then came geopolitics.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
The Postal Inspection Service has stepped up crackdown, and discussed the issue with Chinese officials. But parcels are still getting delivered for free, due to system loopholes and human errors. “It was not on us to do anything,” a postal worker told me. restofworld.org/2025/temu-se...
restofworld.org
Chinese Temu sellers use fake U.S. postage labels to boost their profits
Some vendors have figured out how to maintain ultralow prices: Trick the U.S. postal service into delivering products for free.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
On Xiaohongshu, vendors openly advertise fraudulent shipping labels, dubbed “tech labels” or “running-water labels.” They sell those labels at as low as 60 cents, claiming they could be addressed to anywhere in the U.S.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
One merchant told me he used fake labels in order to make his products cheaper on Temu – for the unbranded bargain goods, only ultra-low prices lead to high sales.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Chinese e-commerce merchants, including some on Temu, are using fake shipping labels to trick the U.S. postal service into delivering products for free. Latest for @restofworld.org restofworld.org/2025/temu-se...
restofworld.org
Chinese Temu sellers use fake U.S. postage labels to boost their profits
Some vendors have figured out how to maintain ultralow prices: Trick the U.S. postal service into delivering products for free.
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Michael Zelenko @mvzelenko.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
NEW: Chinese e-commerce sellers are scamming USPS out of MILLIONS of dollars using fake postage labels restofworld.org/2025/temu-se... Fantastic piece from @violazhou.bsky.social
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Scholar Yu Zhou says these young researchers reminded her of China’s first, Silicon Valley-inspired internet startups in the early 2000s. “They wanted to make internet available to China, the DeepSeek people want to make AI available to China.” restofworld.org/2025/china-a... via @restofworld.org
restofworld.org
DeepSeek’s rise shows why China’s top AI talent is skipping Silicon Valley
Young Chinese engineers focus on homegrown innovation, drawn by fewer visa hurdles and the chance to build a future on their own terms.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
These AI talents come from Chinese universities, state-backed labs, and companies such as Beijing-based Microsoft Research Asia – dubbed an AI bootcamp. “[DeepSeek] managed to get the best of the best,” said Daniel Palomar, PhD adviser to R1 core contributor Junxiao Song.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
DeepSeek’s breakthrough shows the strength of China’s AI talent pool. Researcher at a top Silicon Valley company told us they had hired brilliant Chinese interns to work on AI projects. But some turned down full-time offers to return to China. restofworld.org/2025/china-a... via @restofworld.org
restofworld.org
DeepSeek’s rise shows why China’s top AI talent is skipping Silicon Valley
Young Chinese engineers focus on homegrown innovation, drawn by fewer visa hurdles and the chance to build a future on their own terms.
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Rest of World @restofworld.org · 23/01/2025
For this year’s photo contest, we put out a call asking readers to show us how technology is impacting their world. We received 227 entries from 45 countries — here are the winners restofworld.org/2025/tech-ph...
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Thanks Carwyn! I contributed a small part but agree it’s a good list😆
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
My story on one dark side of #Xiaohongshu and Chinese social media in general: when some black users came to the app in 2023, they were not as welcomed. restofworld.org/2023/chinese...
restofworld.org
Chinese internet trolls are adopting American racism to taunt Black users
Users are harassing Black creators with profile pictures of white police officers.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
The trans community on #Xiaohongshu, and how the algorithm to an extent protected it from censorship, by Xinrou Shu restofworld.org/2023/xiaohon...
restofworld.org
Xiaohongshu becomes an online oasis for trans people in China
As authorities tighten their grip on LGBTQ content, the social media platform is a rare exception.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
You’ve probably seen many users called “momo” on #Xiaohongshu. Here’s why, by @caiwei.bsky.social restofworld.org/2023/social-...
restofworld.org
Why thousands of young Chinese people use a pink dinosaur as their alias
Users adopt the alias “momo” as a way to speak more freely, evade harassment, and protect personal privacy on Douban and Xiaohongshu.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
And #Xiaohongshu as a go-to guide for Chinese tourists: it has revolutionized Chinese tourism in Southeast Asia, by Zhaoyin Feng restofworld.org/2024/xiaohon...
restofworld.org
Xiaohongshu has revolutionized Chinese tourism in Southeast Asia
The lifestyle and social media platform, often compared to Instagram, is turning obscure sites into must-see attractions.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
On #Xiaohongshu 's influencing power among Chinese diaspora: how app turned Düsseldorf into a foodie destination, by @krishraghav.bsky.social, Yan Cong, @carwynmorris.bsky.social restofworld.org/2023/xiaohon...
restofworld.org
How China’s hottest social media app turned Düsseldorf into a foodie destination
The trendiest food city in Europe isn’t Paris or London. It’s Düsseldorf — thanks to Xiaohongshu.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
If you are interested in learning more about #Xiaohongshu #RedNote, @restofworld.org has published many in-depth stories about the community: My story on XHS as an ultra-consumerist app, showing young women a polished, bougie, often-unattainable way of life. restofworld.org/2023/xiaohon...
restofworld.org
Xiaohongshu is teaching young Chinese women how to buy the perfect life
Known as China’s “lifestyle bible,” the social media platform is an aspirational living guide or a consumerist trap.
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Michael Zelenko @mvzelenko.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Despite all the cyber saber-rattling, US and Chinese AI researchers work with each other more than they work with anyone else: restofworld.org/2025/us-chin... Great data-led reporting here from @khadijaalam.bsky.social for @restofworld.org
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Kinling Lo @kinlinglo.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Sharing my first story w/ @restofworld.org! Excited to be working with this group of creative, passionate and talented colleagues on covering the global tech landscape. How is Chinese tech is affecting your part of the world? Tell me more: kinling@restofworld.org
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
also a thought from Thread posts on this: Americans call themselves “refugees,” but they are really just visitors. They can post whatever and don’t have to worry about getting banned, cut off from friends, or even detained - because at the end of the day they will leave and have fun somewhere else.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Hello! Yes Chinese users are def curious about those topics. They are just more aware of the risks of getting accounts banned etc. Some people do agree with the censorship mechanism itself, agreeing with the state that free political discussions (esp on things like separatism) could be harmful.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
time flies!
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
While Chinese users know when to self-censor, Americans don’t. On Xiaohongshu aka RedNote, they ask about the Ukraine War, the Chinese govt, gay people. In the comments, some local users reminded the newcomers not to discuss “politics, religion, and drugs.”
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Michael Zelenko @mvzelenko.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
In case you missed it, @restofworld.org published three bangers on Friday. First off, @violazhou.bsky.social & @selinacheng.bsky.social on Foxconn's surprise halt on sending people and equipment to India: restofworld.org/2025/china-f...
restofworld.org
Exclusive: Foxconn stops sending Chinese workers to India iPhone factories
In addition, equipment shipments are delayed, potentially disrupting next-generation iPhone production in India.
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Selina Cheng @selinacheng.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
MY SCOOP w @violazhou.bsky.social 👉 Foxconn staff rotations to India stopped, Chinese expatriates to return home, & equipment exports are held up. Apple overcame tech challenges to make its iPhone Pro Maxes elsewhere, but now, new problems. An obvious one? restofworld.org/2025/china-f...
restofworld.org
Exclusive: Foxconn stops sending Chinese workers to India iPhone factories
In addition, equipment shipments are delayed, potentially disrupting next-generation iPhone production in India.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
Although Apple has in recent years managed to make the latest iPhone models in India, production still relies on Chinese and Taiwanese expats, as well as machinery from China. For context, this long-read on how iPhones are made in India restofworld.org/2023/foxconn...
restofworld.org
Inside Foxconn’s struggle to make iPhones in India
Chinese engineers are flying to India to train the next generation of iPhone builders.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
Foxconn is currently having trouble sending mainland Chinese workers, equipment to its India iPhone plants. It will potential disrupt the production of next-gen iPhones in India. Scoop with @selinacheng.bsky.social restofworld.org/2025/china-f...
restofworld.org
Exclusive: Foxconn stops sending Chinese workers to India iPhone factories
In addition, equipment shipments are delayed, potentially disrupting next-generation iPhone production in India.
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Rina Chandran @rinachandran.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
Foxconn has stopped sending Chinese workers and equipment to its iPhone factories in India, which could dent Apple's ambition to use its India plants to diversify away from China. Exclusive from @selinacheng.bsky.social and @violazhou.bsky.social for @restofworld.org restofworld.org/2025/china-f...
restofworld.org
Exclusive: Foxconn stops sending Chinese workers to India iPhone factories
In addition, equipment shipments are delayed, potentially disrupting next-generation iPhone production in India.
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Reposted by Viola Zhou
Michael Zelenko @mvzelenko.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
I'm a big fan of @bloomberg.com's annual jealousy list — and I'm particularly thrilled to see an entry for @violazhou.bsky.social's @restofworld.org story on Chinese immigrants running Temu shipping centers from their homes. Read it if you haven't yet! restofworld.org/2024/chinese...
restofworld.org
The U.S. Chinese immigrants running Temu shipping centers from their homes
To speed up delivery and dodge a crackdown on shipments from China, e-commerce companies are turning to so-called “family warehouses.”
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
and start writing sponsored content on WeChat and doing livestream shopping. It doesn’t have a strong plot line but full of feminist and subtle political jokes. imo better than Barbie.
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Viola Zhou @violazhou.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Got to watch Chinese film Her Story 好东西 in New York. Great witty take on the life of urban, middle-class women caught between family duties and unfulfilled dreams: main character is a former investigative journalist who was forced to stop reporting (reason ofc not given)
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Rest of World @restofworld.org · 26/11/2024
India officially banned the Chinese app CamScanner in 2020. The government’s ban prevented new downloads, but those who already had CamScanner on their phones — including some government officials — were likely able to continue using it restofworld.org/2024/india-b...
restofworld.org
India banned a Chinese app four years ago. Government agencies are still using it
CamScanner was one of 59 Chinese apps the Indian government banned in 2020, amid a border conflict with China.
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