Marketplace public radio correspondent to discuss his new book on modern China

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Scott Tong, a correspondent for the public radio program Marketplace, will discuss his new book, “A Village with My Name: A Family History of China’s Opening to the World,” on Thursday, April 5, at 4 p.m. in 120 Clemens Hall on the University at Buffalo North Campus.

Tong joined the Marketplace staff in 2004.

Two years later, he moved to Shanghai for the purpose of starting the program’s China bureau, and served as its bureau chief until 2010.

His journalistic role over those four years soon became an opportunity to connect with extended family members who remained in China long after his parents fled during the communist revolution more than half a century earlier.

Within his family history, Tong found the lens to examine China’s history for new and deeply personal understandings of the country’s defining moments.

The result is a unique perspective on the transitions in China as witnessed by the people who lived through events ranging from the end of the Qing monarchy and Japan’s occupation during WWII to the exile of political prisoners to forced labor camps and the market reforms under Deng Xiaoing.

“It’s my great privilege to share thoughts on China and globalization with the University at Buffalo, at a time when so many of us are trying to understand China and its place in the world,” says Tong. “To me, taking a longer view of China’s long and interrupted opening to the world helps place this moment in perspective.”

Tong’s talk is free and open to the public.

It’s co-sponsored by the UB Confucius Institute and the UB Department of History.

Marketplace is a daily business and economics program, which along with its three spin-offs, is heard by more than 14 million listeners each week. Marketplace also delivers about 4.2 million podcast downloads monthly.

Tong currently serves as a correspondent for Marketplace’s Sustainability Desk, presenting stories on the environment, natural resources and the global economy.