Leta Hong Fincher


Leta Hong Fincher is an American journalist, feminist and writer. She is currently a research associate at Columbia University's Weatherhead [East Asian Institute].

Early life and education

Fincher was born in British Hong Kong to a Chinese-American mother with roots in Xiamen, Fujian, and a European-American father. She grew up in Canberra after her parents received tenures at Australian National University. Her mother, a linguist, and her father, a historian, were both Chinese scholars, and she spent a significant portion of her childhood travelling to and from China. As a child, she spoke Mandarin at home with her mother.
Fincher attended Harvard University, where she completed her bachelor's degree in 1990, and later Stanford University for her master's degree in East Asian studies. She graduated from Tsinghua University with the first PhD for sociology awarded to an American.

Career

Fincher has written for several publications about feminism, especially in China. For her reports on women and feminism in China, Fincher won the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma [Delta Chi award]. She has worked at Radio Free Asia, Asia Television, CNBC Asia, and Voice of America, and she has written for The [New York Times], The Washington Post and The Guardian.

Publications