Andy Yee

Andy Yee is a technology policy expert. He is currently a Public Policy Director for Visa in Greater China, handling policy issues related to digital payments, economic growth and financial inclusion. Prior to Visa, he served for four years as a Public Policy Analyst for Google in Asia Pacific. This entailed internet policy issues including technology innovation, free expression, privacy and intellectual property. Earlier in his career, he has held permanent and visiting roles in public institutions and investment banks, including the Hong Kong Government, the European Union Delegation to China, UBS and Crédit Agricole.

He is a published author on politics, technology, and Asia. His works have appeared in academic and policy journals including the Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, Global Asia and Internet Policy Review, and the media including Nikkei Asian Review, South China Morning Post and Asia Sentinel. He was a regular contributor to citizen media Global Voices and China blog ChinaGeeks. To date, his writing has been mentioned by publications ​such as The New York Times, the Guardian and IMF magazine Finance & Development.

He holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Information Engineering from the University of Cambridge, and a master’s degree in Pacific Asian Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. While at Cambridge, he spent a year on exchange at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is a Financial Risk Manager (FRM) certified by the Global Association of Risk Professionals, and has completed the MIT Fintech: Future Commerce certificate course. He speaks Mandarin, English, Japanese and Cantonese.

(Last updated: October 2016. Website: ahkyee.com)

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Latest posts by Andy Yee

How Social Commerce Tightens China's Grip on the Internet

  22 May 2013

A deal between e-commerce firm Alibaba Group and Sina Weibo, China's most popular microblogging service, has been heralded as a jump-start to the era of social commerce in China. But it could also enable the authoritarian state to tighten its grip on the Internet.

Language War in the Hong Kong Book Fair

  25 July 2012

A Cantonese-Mandarin language war broke out in a talk given by movie director Pang Ho-cheung for the 2012 Hong Kong Book Fair. To serve the big mainland Chinese market, the organizer arranged the talk to be in Mandarin. This provoked the anger of Hongkongers given they are the majority of...

Taiwan: Democracy with a Confucian Face?

  2 July 2012

Politicians and academics have long debated whether Confucianism is compatible with democratic and civic values. Han Han's recent visit to Taiwan, and his high admiration of culture, freedom and democracy there, have sparked a vigorous debate about how they are related, and what this discussion means for mainland China.

The Future of Sino-US Relations: Ask Andrew Nathan

  19 May 2012

Xiaomi (twitter: xiaomi2020) is organizing an interview with Andrew Nathan, an internationally renowned expert on US-China relations from Columbia University. Submit a question or vote on a question that's already been asked here. Xiaomi is one of the organizers of Yizhe, a group which translates western journalism on China.

Why do I wish to see Hong Kong's independence

  25 January 2012

Amid a series of social and cultural clashes between Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong netizen Marie Meow has written an open letter (English translation here) on Facebook exploring the reasons, possibilities and limitations for a Hong Kong independent from China. The letter has gone viral on the Hong...

Hong Kong Rethinks its Relationship with Mainland China

  24 January 2012

15 years after Hong Kong's return to mainland China, Hong Kongers have little mood for celebration. Tensions run deep between Hong Kongers and mainlanders. Bloggers and social critics explore recent conflicts from the social, cultural and economic perspectives.

Unhappy Hong Kong Envious of Taiwan's Democracy

  19 January 2012

Having witnessed Taiwan's 2012 presidential election, Derrick Tao, a Hong Kong photographer, made a video (with English subtitles) to contrast democratic development of the two societies. As a prosperous but undemocratic city state, “Hong Kong could either join Taiwan as pioneers of freedom and democracy in the Chinese societies”, or...

China: Leadership jockeying ahead of the 18th Party Congress

  14 December 2011

As the 18th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party approaches, Joshua Rosenzweig ponders about who will become the next head of the Central Politico-Legal Commission (CPLC). Dubbed the  “security czar”, the position oversees all legal enforcement authorities and has heavy influence on the rule of law in China.

China: Interview with a digital dissident

  25 September 2011

Tom from Seeing Red in China interviews Xiaomi (twitter: @xiaomi2020), one of the organizers of Yizhe, a group which translates Western journalism on China so that they are more accessible to ordinary Chinese. Though not politically-oriented, some members of the group were identified by authorities because they translate news considered...

China: A water calligraphy dot matrix printer

  22 September 2011

Danwei has produced a video interview with Nicholas Hanna, a media artist who has built a tricycle that can paint Chinese characters with water on the ground as it moves. The machine is inspired by Beijingers who practice Chinese calligraphy with water brushes on the ground in parks.

China: “Free Lunch” for Rural Students via Micro-Donations

  5 September 2011

To help improve education in rural China, a new project by Guangzhou-based charity activist Liang Shuxin called “Free Lunch” is raising online micro-donations to deliver lunch meals to impoverished school children in collaboration with a semi-official agency.

China: Guangdong Model Making a Comeback?

  2 September 2011

Back in July this year, the two ‘cake theories’ articulated by the Communist Party of China (CPC) chiefs of Guangdong province and the Chongqing municipality stirred a public debate about different social development models in China.

Malaysia: Video salutes Generation 709

  2 September 2011

Following the formation of Generation 709 by young Malaysians to call for free and fair elections in the country, the Cantonese-speaking Malaysian music group EVYbody has created a video (with Chinese and English subtitles) to salute everyone who dares to stand up for their rights.

China: Soaring number of female political prisoners

  29 August 2011

The Dui Hua Foundation's Human Rights Journal explores the issue of the fast growing number of female political prisoners in China. This presents unique challenges, including male-on-female violence, childbirth in prison, and the overcrowding of women's prisons.

China: The broken education system in the countryside

  29 August 2011

Tom, an American who works in education in rural China and blogs at Seeing Red in China, shares his first-hand teaching experience in the Guangxi province, and analyses some of the systemic problems in the educational system of China's countryside.

China and Britain: how do they compare?

  27 August 2011

A British who has settled in China recounts his observations about the differences between the daily life in China and Britain, and how Britain has changed since he last visited there a year ago: “Great Britain is my home, and I love it, but it does feel like many of...

A Letter From China to the Norwegian Killer

  3 August 2011

Many Chinese netizens could not comprehend the atrocities committed by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway. In their eyes, Norway is a paradise, where people enjoy a high standard of living and do not need to confront the pressures of survival. How could it happen?

China: Know more about activist Wang Lihong

  29 July 2011

Wang Lihong, one of many lesser known activists jailed in China, is facing imminent trial. The blog Free Wang Lihong has published a detailed English biography of her. Amnesty International has also issued an appeal to take action for her release.

China: Outrage at High-Speed Train Crash

  24 July 2011

A collision between two high-speed trains in China in the evening of July 23 killed at least 35 people and injured over 200. C. Custer at ChinaGeeks has written about the government's cover-ups of the tragedy and railway safety issues, and the outrages that are pouring in China's online community.

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