Yuan Yang (politician) explained

Yuan Yang
Office:Member of Parliament
for Earley and Woodley
Term Start:4 July 2024
Predecessor:Constituency created
Majority:848 (1.9%)
Birth Place:Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
Party:Labour
Alma Mater:Balliol College, Oxford (BA)
London School of Economics (MSc)
Module2:
Child:yes
S:杨缘
T:楊緣
P:Yáng yuán

Yuan Yang (; born 1990) is a British-Chinese Labour Party politician, economist and journalist serving as Member of Parliament for Earley and Woodley since 2024.

Yang was formerly the UK-based Europe-China correspondent for the Financial Times. She is the first Chinese-born Briton to be elected to the UK Parliament, and the second of Chinese ethnicity after Alan Mak.

Early life and education

Yang was born in Ningbo in China,[1] growing up in the southwestern Sichuan province.[2] She was raised by her maternal grandparents in a work unit (danwei).[3] At the age of four, she moved to the north of England with her parents - moving between Manchester and Leeds.[2] Yang became "very passionate about writing" as a child, and explained that her passion was "encouraged by my teachers and by a group called The Yorkshire Writing Squad that I joined as a teenager".[2]

Yang was educated at the fee-paying Bradford Grammar School, graduating in 2008.[4] She studied for a bachelor's degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford, graduating in 2011 with first-class honours.[5] She was the sabbatical Women’s Officer in the Oxford Student Union.[6]

In 2008 amid the 2007–2008 financial crisis, she co-founded Rethinking Economics, a non-profit campaign that Yang described as coming from the belief that "students should be able to choose among different schools of thought" with regards to economics education.[7] [8] [9] Yang expressed the hope that the campaign would provide a space for students wanting to address "real world economic issues, broader questions of economic justice and reforming the real economy."[10]

Yang attended the London School of Economics from 2012-2013, studying for an MSc in Economics. Yang studied abroad at Peking University in 2013 as part of a government sponsored programme.[2]

Journalism career

In a 2021 interview with Quartz, Yang noted that she initially intended to become a poet but pivoted to journalism by accident.[11]

She began her journalism career as a Marjorie Dean intern in the economics section of The Economist magazine.[12]

In 2016, she returned to China as an economics correspondent for the Financial Times.[13] She has served as deputy Beijing bureau chief for the FT, and covered China's technology sector and economy. Yang is also a regular contributor to BBC News.[8]

In May 2024, Yang's book[14] Private Revolutions was published by Bloomsbury Publishing.[15] The book is about the coming of age of four women born in China in the 1980s and 1990s, in a society about to change beyond recognition.

Political career

In December 2023, Yang was announced as the Labour Party candidate for Earley and Woodley[16] in the 2024 general election.[17] Her family had lived in the area for 14 years prior to her selection as a candidate.[18] Yang explained that part of her motivation for standing as a candidate derived from witnessing "the damage austerity has done to our community" in the area.[18]

In July 2024, she won the newly created constituency with 18,209 votes, beating the Conservative party candidate who received 17,361 votes,[19] and becoming the UK's first Chinese-born MP. Before she was an MP, Yang backed the rights of Hongkongers in the United Kingdom and was critical of the Chinese government's 2020 Hong Kong national security law.[20]

As Yang is a Quaker,[21] she was sworn in to parliament by taking a solemn affirmation on 10 July 2024.[22]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Private Revolutions by Yuan Yang review — growing up in modern China. The Times. Christina. Patterson. 2024-05-19. 2024-07-06. 8 June 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240608113613/https://www.thetimes.com/magazines/culture-magazine/article/private-revolutions-by-yuan-yang-review-j6r0f8rzn. live.
  2. Web site: Yuan Yang, the British-Chinese journalist witnessing the decline of press freedom in China. Annabelle. Timsit. 23 August 2021. Quartz. 9 July 2024. 6 July 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240706183350/https://qz.com/2043655/yuan-yang-the-witness-to-declining-press-freedom-in-china. live.
  3. News: Eaton . George . Labour's Yuan Yang: "There is deep class anxiety in China" . 8 July 2024 . New Statesman . 22 May 2024 . 27 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240627005036/https://www.newstatesman.com/encounter/2024/05/labours-yuan-yang-there-is-deep-class-anxiety-in-china . live .
  4. Web site: Alred . Jessica . Yuan Yang . 2024-07-09 . Bradford Grammar School . en-GB.
  5. Annual Record . Balliol College Annual Record . 100 . Balliol College . 4 July 2024 . 5 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240705232450/https://www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/annual_record_for_web.pdf . live .
  6. Web site: The former student leaders entering Parliament . 2024-07-16 . Wonkhe . en-GB.
  7. Web site: 10 April 2015 . Students weigh the value of new economics course . Financial Times . 7 June 2023 . 29 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230529001047/https://www.ft.com/content/fc2eb464-d93d-11e4-b907-00144feab7de . live .
  8. Web site: 23 August 2021 . Yuan Yang, the British-Chinese journalist witnessing the decline of press freedom in China . Yahoo Finance.
  9. Web site: Yuan Yang . Financial Times . 7 June 2023 . 7 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230607022019/http://www.ft.com/yuan-yang . live .
  10. Web site: Interview with Yuan Yang on Rethinking Economics and WEA's Young Economists Network (YEN) | World Economics Association. www.worldeconomicsassociation.org. 9 July 2024. 23 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240123165834/https://www.worldeconomicsassociation.org/newsletterarticles/interview-with-yuan-yang/. live.
  11. Web site: Timsit . Annabelle . 2021-08-23 . Yuan Yang, the British-Chinese journalist witnessing the decline of press freedom in China . 2024-07-06 . Quartz . en . 6 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240706183350/https://qz.com/2043655/yuan-yang-the-witness-to-declining-press-freedom-in-china . live .
  12. Web site: 2012-03-09 . Internships . 2024-07-06 . Marjorie Deane Financial Journalism Foundation . en . 30 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240330025005/https://marjoriedeane.com/internships/ . live .
  13. Web site: ‘I am an expat in the country I was born in’. www.ft.com. 9 July 2024. 25 September 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220925064205/https://www.ft.com/content/8e96d1ae-ab83-11e8-94bd-cba20d67390c. live.
  14. Web site: Private Revolutions . Yang . Yuan . . 9 May 2024 . Bloomsbury Publishing . 2 June 2024 . 2 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240602201624/https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/private-revolutions-9781526655929/ . live .
  15. Web site: Bloomsbury wins four-way auction for 'major talent' Yuan Yang. 8 February 2022. Book Seller. 7 June 2023. 8 February 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220208095544/https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/bloomsbury-wins-four-way-auction-for-major-talent-yuan-yang. live.
  16. Web site: Yang Yang PPC – Earley and Woodley CLP . 22 May 2024 . Earley and Woodley Labour CLP . en-GB . 2 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240602202004/https://earleyandwoodleylabour.com/yuanyang/ . live .
  17. Web site: 18 December 2023 . Yuan Yang selected as Labour candidate for new Earley and Woodley MP seat . 23 December 2023 . Reading Chronicle . en.
  18. Web site: VOTE 2024: Earley and Woodley Labour candidate is ‘honoured’ to be standing in the new seat – Wokingham.Today.
  19. News: General Election 2024: Labour's Yuan Yang wins Earley & Woodley seat . Wokingham Today . 5 July 2024 . 5 July 2024 . 5 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240705202557/https://wokingham.today/general-election-2024-labours-yuan-yang-wins-earley-woodley-seat/ . live .
  20. News: Tse . Hans . 5 July 2024 . Yuan Yang becomes UK's the first Chinese-born lawmaker . 5 July 2024 . en-GB.
  21. News: Yang . Yuan . Democracy begins with us . 10 July 2024 . . 2 July 2024.
  22. YuanfenYang . 1810999204480757833 . I was 'sworn in' to Parliament this morning, so now our new constituency of Earley, Woodley, Shinfield and Whitley has its first ever fully-fledged MP! This is just the start – over the summer I'll be hiring for my constituency office & scouting out surgery venues. Get in touch! [Media].

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