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Viola Zhou
@violazhouyi
reporter @restofworld covering tech and humans. formerly @viceworldnews @scmpnews. 📧 [email protected].
New York
violazhou.com
Joined November 2012
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    Mar 11, 2025
    A new American factory story: I spent months tracking Chinese EV battery maker Gotion: a strongman boss, a son who worships Elon Musk, an embattled white executive, a group of Michigan hunters who call this EV revolution a scam. restofworld.org/2025/gotion-ev… via @restofworld
    An expansive, empty warehouse interior featuring a large American flag hanging from the ceiling, yellow painted columns, and various industrial equipment scattered throughout the space. The bright lighting illuminates the clean, white floor.
    How a Chinese battery factory sparked a political meltdown in a small Michigan town 
    From restofworld.org
    24K
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    May 23, 2023
    Chinese internet trolls are changing their profile pictures to white American cops and adopting names such as “Sheriff Roberson,” so they could harass black influencers. restofworld.org/2023/chinese-s… via @restofworld
    A collage of three screenshots from Chinese social media platforms set against a purple background.
    Chinese internet trolls are adopting American racism to taunt Black users
    From restofworld.org
    554K
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    Sep 30, 2022
    The Utah County has accidentally become a wedding haven for same-sex couples from China during the pandemic. Tho not legally recognized in China, the Zoom weddings have allowed couples to celebrate their love with family and friends, with just over $100.
    Same-sex couples from China are getting married in Utah over Zoom
    From restofworld.org
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    Nov 28, 2023
    This summer, @NilChristopher and I traveled to Sunguvarchatram, India, to find out how Foxconn prepared for the upcoming launch of iPhone 15. This supply chain shift brought Chinese and Indian workers together in an unlikely way 🧵 restofworld.org/2023/foxconn-i… via @restofworld
    A photo showing the exterior of a bus at night with a silhouette of a person's head slumped against the window.
    Inside Foxconn’s struggle to make iPhones in India
    From restofworld.org
    403K
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    Jul 7, 2022
    #Exclusive Chinese short-video apps are quietly cracking down on influencers in Africa, who have built fortunes producing racist, misogynist content, after BBC investigation Racism for Sale triggered outcry across Africa restofworld.org/2022/china-rac… via @restofworld
    Racist videos about Africans fuel a multimillion-dollar Chinese industry
    From restofworld.org
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    Nov 9, 2022
    “I beg you please..I really understand what I did wrong now.” WeChat is asking some users to submit handwritten letters before it agrees to unlock their banned accounts. Users shared with us what they’ve spent hours writing: restofworld.org/2022/handwritt… via @restofworld
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    Oct 22, 2021
    Pianist accused of soliciting prostitute looks like this in the latest ep of hit Chinese reality show.. this kind of total erasure is happening so often that everyone finds it perfectly normal.
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    Jun 19, 2020
    Talked to Chinese rappers about why they are not supporting #BlackLivesMatter, despite playing black music for a living.  censorship, state narrative against civil activism, racism all contribute to the disconnect between hip hop and its black roots inkstonenews.com/arts/why-china…
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    Mar 24, 2021
    Companies are now under pressure to choose between buying Xinjiang cotton and getting boycotted in China. HK-listed @ANTAsportswear just issued a statement on Weibo: we have always been using Xinjiang cotton..
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    Oct 14, 2022
    Cantonese livestreamers say Douyin, China’s most popular video app, is cutting them off for speaking an “unrecognizable language,” and making them switch to Mandarin restofworld.org/2022/douyin-ca… via @restofworld
    Influencers say China’s TikTok is banning Cantonese speakers
    From restofworld.org
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    Jan 19, 2022
    Replying to @violazhouyi
    Many hamster owners have posted their locations and the number of extra pets they could take in, reminding me of the time when people offered accommodation to protesters kicked out of their homes
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    Jun 14, 2019
    After hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the extradition law, one Hongkonger, actress Charmaine Sheh, liked an Instagram video showing the massive crowd. She would come to regret it.
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    Oct 8, 2021
    More young women in China are looking to date men who are feminist allies, but young men are lagging behind them in gender ideology. Talked to some women who have given their (ex-)boyfriends and potential dates the Yang Li test vice.com/en/article/jg8… via @VICEWorldNews
    Chinese Women Are Dumping Their Boyfriends Over a Feminist Comedian
    From vice.com
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    Viola Zhou
    @violazhouyi
    May 17, 2021
    Snowden followed Wang Xing in quoting a Tang dynasty poem on Qin dynasty tyranny: the thousand-year tradition of using historical events/texts to make veiled criticism of the government continues today, because censorship has also continued to the present
    Here’s the Story Behind Snowden’s Mysterious Chinese Tweet
    From vice.com