SOPA and Wei Fund Co-Host Distinguished International Forum on Journalism at NCCU
Date :
2025-11-06
Department :
Secretariat
【Article by Chairman of the Wei Fund for Educational and Journalistic Excellence Committee】
The Distinguished International Forum on Journalism, co-hosted by the Wei Fund for Educational and Journalistic Excellence and the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA), was held on November 1, 2025 at National Chengchi University (NCCU). Three international SOPA Award winners shared the stories behind their acclaimed works and joined three Taiwanese laureates for a lively exchange on cross-border reporting. The event drew a full audience and marked the first time SOPA Week has been held in Taiwan, marking an important milestone for Taiwan’s media community.
Yi-Shan Chen, Co-Chair of SOPA and Editor-in-Chief of CommonWealth Magazine, shared the initial inspiration for the event: “I heard that Hong Kong Baptist University is able to invite a Pulitzer Prize winner one year and a SOPA Award winner the next to be a journalist-in-residence and teach students how to be a journalist, and I was genuinely envious.” This vision perfectly aligns with the mission and spirit of the Wei Fund for Educational and Journalistic Excellence: to allow Taiwan's journalists and students aspiring to enter the field to connect with the most outstanding news professionals and broaden their international perspective. Through the joint efforts of both organizations, the forum was realized in Taiwan.
The forum began with the three international journalists sharing their reporting journeys for the award-winning works. The Wall Street Journal's Patricia Kowsmann won the Award for Public Service Journalism for her report uncovering the inner workings of the scam industry in the Philippines. Kowsmann noted that while there are many reports focusing on scam methods, those revealing the identities of the scammers are extremely rare. Her team gained access to a seized scam base, where the remnants of red wine, whiskey, and cigarette smoke still lingered in the ringleader's villa. The group, which had luxurious equipment and recreational facilities like a swimming pool, was shockingly located within sight of the mayor's official residence.
The most stunning revelation was the Chinese-born mayor, Alice Kuo, who operated a scam hub within sight of her own city hall. She also has an exaggerated passion for pink: the first thing she did after being elected was paint the city hall pink, and she was arrested wearing pink pajamas.
Reflecting on the complex nature of the subjects, Kowsmann said, “Bad people also do good things.” She shared that the mayor was beloved by the locals for distributing food and hosting parties. Furthermore, many scammers were victims themselves, lured there and subjected to abuse if they failed to meet daily quotas. Kowsmann’s observation suggests, “The bad person we recognize might be a good person in someone else’s eyes,” conveying the report’s goal to challenge the simple dichotomy of good and evil.
The Information’s Qianer Liu, 28, won the SOPA Award for Young Journalist of the Year for her report on the “Nvidia chip smuggling supply chain”. Liu shared a key strategy for tackling the difficulty of reporting on illegal activities: “Persistence is not just effort, but strategy.” Establishing trust was crucial, requiring her to spend time listening to interviewees talk about private topics. The most surprising discovery, she shared, was that “For Chinese people, they think the US controls are unreasonable, and that smuggling chips is helping China in a race against time, and is serving the nation.” This, she said, explained why some were willing to take the risk to be interviewed.
Reflecting on her own path, Liu described leaving the tech industry after realizing during China’s Singles’ Day shopping festival that she missed “the adrenaline rush and constant learning” of journalism. She also shared her newsroom’s strict standards: “If a source just says, ‘I heard,’ we cut it. We only quote what’s been seen or verified.”
Financial Times Greater China Correspondent Kathrin Hille won the Excellence in Infographics Award for her military analysis report on the Taiwan Strait, also receiving an Honorable Mention in the Award for Excellence in Explanatory Reporting. She candidly admitted, “Actually, this wasn’t the piece I most wanted to submit.” Her most satisfying work was a story about how Indigenous military officers in Taitung view war, a report she felt was closer to reality and the human heart.
She candidly recounted the creative tension of collaborating with designers, recalling that “when the visual team joined, it felt like chaos” as they debated whether visuals or text should lead. The process, she said, forced her to rethink her storytelling habits and ultimately showed her that “sometimes, stepping away and coming back later makes the story stronger.” Drawing from years of newsroom experience, Hille advised younger journalists to “build a reputation early—one that earns respect.”
In the afternoon, the three international winners joined Taiwan’s SOPA awardees—De-Lin Fang, Editor-in-Chief of The Reporter; Lauly Li, Senior Tech Reporter at Nikkei Asia; and Silva Shih, Senior Editor at CommonWealth Magazine—for a roundtable on how Asian stories can reach global audiences. The discussion covered strategies for pitching to international editors, bridging cultural differences, and maintaining authenticity while appealing to global readers. Speakers also exchanged thoughts about the effects of generative AI on journalism, opportunities for regional media collaboration, and the challenges faced by women reporters in male-dominated environments.
Dr. Tsai-Yen Li, President of NCCU and Chairman of the Wei Fund for Educational and Journalistic Excellence Committee, delivered the closing remarks. Despite the university's busy schedule for the BaoZhong Tea Festival (department fair), he met the speakers and guests at a welcome dinner the day before the conference and personally delivered the closing speech in the afternoon. President Li expressed his hope that “through continued collaboration, quality journalism will continue to flourish across Asia.”
The Wei Fund for Educational and Journalistic Excellence was founded through a US$15 million donation from NCCU alumnus Ming-Kuang Wei, a graduate of the Department of Journalism and a successful entrepreneur based in the United States. Although Wei built his career outside the news industry, he has long been committed to improving Taiwan’s media environment, recognizing the sector’s growing challenges—from eroding public trust and talent shortages to the pressures of rapid technological change. Through the Fund—which supports the Wei Ming-Kuang (Journalism) Prize, scholarship initiatives, and the Distinguished Lecture Series in Journalism—Wei aims to elevate the standards of journalism and nurture a new generation of media professionals. The SOPA Forum represents an important step toward realizing that vision.
The Distinguished International Forum on Journalism, co-hosted by the Wei Fund for Educational and Journalistic Excellence and the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA), was held on November 1, 2025 at National Chengchi University (NCCU). Three international SOPA Award winners shared the stories behind their acclaimed works and joined three Taiwanese laureates for a lively exchange on cross-border reporting. The event drew a full audience and marked the first time SOPA Week has been held in Taiwan, marking an important milestone for Taiwan’s media community.
Yi-Shan Chen, Co-Chair of SOPA and Editor-in-Chief of CommonWealth Magazine, shared the initial inspiration for the event: “I heard that Hong Kong Baptist University is able to invite a Pulitzer Prize winner one year and a SOPA Award winner the next to be a journalist-in-residence and teach students how to be a journalist, and I was genuinely envious.” This vision perfectly aligns with the mission and spirit of the Wei Fund for Educational and Journalistic Excellence: to allow Taiwan's journalists and students aspiring to enter the field to connect with the most outstanding news professionals and broaden their international perspective. Through the joint efforts of both organizations, the forum was realized in Taiwan.
The forum began with the three international journalists sharing their reporting journeys for the award-winning works. The Wall Street Journal's Patricia Kowsmann won the Award for Public Service Journalism for her report uncovering the inner workings of the scam industry in the Philippines. Kowsmann noted that while there are many reports focusing on scam methods, those revealing the identities of the scammers are extremely rare. Her team gained access to a seized scam base, where the remnants of red wine, whiskey, and cigarette smoke still lingered in the ringleader's villa. The group, which had luxurious equipment and recreational facilities like a swimming pool, was shockingly located within sight of the mayor's official residence.
The most stunning revelation was the Chinese-born mayor, Alice Kuo, who operated a scam hub within sight of her own city hall. She also has an exaggerated passion for pink: the first thing she did after being elected was paint the city hall pink, and she was arrested wearing pink pajamas.
Reflecting on the complex nature of the subjects, Kowsmann said, “Bad people also do good things.” She shared that the mayor was beloved by the locals for distributing food and hosting parties. Furthermore, many scammers were victims themselves, lured there and subjected to abuse if they failed to meet daily quotas. Kowsmann’s observation suggests, “The bad person we recognize might be a good person in someone else’s eyes,” conveying the report’s goal to challenge the simple dichotomy of good and evil.
The Information’s Qianer Liu, 28, won the SOPA Award for Young Journalist of the Year for her report on the “Nvidia chip smuggling supply chain”. Liu shared a key strategy for tackling the difficulty of reporting on illegal activities: “Persistence is not just effort, but strategy.” Establishing trust was crucial, requiring her to spend time listening to interviewees talk about private topics. The most surprising discovery, she shared, was that “For Chinese people, they think the US controls are unreasonable, and that smuggling chips is helping China in a race against time, and is serving the nation.” This, she said, explained why some were willing to take the risk to be interviewed.
Reflecting on her own path, Liu described leaving the tech industry after realizing during China’s Singles’ Day shopping festival that she missed “the adrenaline rush and constant learning” of journalism. She also shared her newsroom’s strict standards: “If a source just says, ‘I heard,’ we cut it. We only quote what’s been seen or verified.”
Financial Times Greater China Correspondent Kathrin Hille won the Excellence in Infographics Award for her military analysis report on the Taiwan Strait, also receiving an Honorable Mention in the Award for Excellence in Explanatory Reporting. She candidly admitted, “Actually, this wasn’t the piece I most wanted to submit.” Her most satisfying work was a story about how Indigenous military officers in Taitung view war, a report she felt was closer to reality and the human heart.
She candidly recounted the creative tension of collaborating with designers, recalling that “when the visual team joined, it felt like chaos” as they debated whether visuals or text should lead. The process, she said, forced her to rethink her storytelling habits and ultimately showed her that “sometimes, stepping away and coming back later makes the story stronger.” Drawing from years of newsroom experience, Hille advised younger journalists to “build a reputation early—one that earns respect.”
In the afternoon, the three international winners joined Taiwan’s SOPA awardees—De-Lin Fang, Editor-in-Chief of The Reporter; Lauly Li, Senior Tech Reporter at Nikkei Asia; and Silva Shih, Senior Editor at CommonWealth Magazine—for a roundtable on how Asian stories can reach global audiences. The discussion covered strategies for pitching to international editors, bridging cultural differences, and maintaining authenticity while appealing to global readers. Speakers also exchanged thoughts about the effects of generative AI on journalism, opportunities for regional media collaboration, and the challenges faced by women reporters in male-dominated environments.
Dr. Tsai-Yen Li, President of NCCU and Chairman of the Wei Fund for Educational and Journalistic Excellence Committee, delivered the closing remarks. Despite the university's busy schedule for the BaoZhong Tea Festival (department fair), he met the speakers and guests at a welcome dinner the day before the conference and personally delivered the closing speech in the afternoon. President Li expressed his hope that “through continued collaboration, quality journalism will continue to flourish across Asia.”
The Wei Fund for Educational and Journalistic Excellence was founded through a US$15 million donation from NCCU alumnus Ming-Kuang Wei, a graduate of the Department of Journalism and a successful entrepreneur based in the United States. Although Wei built his career outside the news industry, he has long been committed to improving Taiwan’s media environment, recognizing the sector’s growing challenges—from eroding public trust and talent shortages to the pressures of rapid technological change. Through the Fund—which supports the Wei Ming-Kuang (Journalism) Prize, scholarship initiatives, and the Distinguished Lecture Series in Journalism—Wei aims to elevate the standards of journalism and nurture a new generation of media professionals. The SOPA Forum represents an important step toward realizing that vision.