In a world continually reshaped by digital media and geopolitical tensions, few voices bridge the chasm between journalistic rigour and human rights advocacy as powerfully as that of Ms Mei Fong. At 52, this Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Chief Communications Officer at international non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) has built an impressive resumé that many journalists and writers would envy.

Her passion has taken her across newsrooms, think tanks and lecture halls. She has held roles including staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal’s China Bureau and faculty member at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

These roles have been anchored by her enduring belief in the transformative power of storytelling. “I think all of us who love stories and the power of storytelling are conditioned to want human rights and civil liberties,” she explained. “From the cradle, we are told stories that draw their narrative power from great injustices ― tales of orphans, wicked stepmothers and stepsisters. The strength of such stories lies in the attempts to correct injustice: Destroy the Rings of Power, vanquish Voldemort, end the Hunger Games. That’s really what human rights and civil liberties are all about. Victory is not assured, but we are thrilled by the acts of courage of people like [Pakistani social activist] Malala Yousafzai, [Filipino journalist and global press freedom advocate] Maria Ressa and [Chinese literary critic] Liu Xiaobo.”

Her love for the written word blossomed at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English Literature in 1997. “So much of my writing—and my courage in writing and exploring the deeper themes in pop fiction and so-called ‘frivolous’ topics—comes from the encouragement from learned professors who didn’t scoff at these interests but encouraged deeper thinking and exploration into them,” Ms Fong reflected, citing professors Susan Ang, Tim White and Robbie Goh as champions of her pursuits, even though these took her quite far from academia.

In fact, it was Professor Goh’s advice that tipped the scales towards journalism studies in the United States—a decision that would shape her future in ways even she could not have anticipated. “I asked him for advice on where to go for graduate school, and had been hesitating between the US and UK,” she recalled. When he realised she wanted to continue pursuing journalism, he immediately suggested she head to America.

Telling Stories, Her Way
After graduating, Ms Fong wrote for a number of local publications, before pursuing her master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University. Following the completion of her degree in 2001, she joined The Wall Street Journal, reporting stories that pulled back the curtain on China’s explosive economic growth at the time. Her contributions to a Pulitzer-winning series of reports included a harrowing look at how a sharp rise in cancer rates was linked to a pesticide factory, and the harsh realities faced by labourers building Beijing’s Olympic dreams. “I think it only dawned on me slowly that I was probably the first Malaysian to win a Pulitzer,” she said. “And it was nice to think that others would follow.” Her stories on China’s migrant workers also earned her a 2006 Human Rights Press Award from Amnesty International and the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club, as well as awards from the Society of Publishers in Asia and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Ms Fong has since expanded her storytelling to include audio formats. At HRW, she now leads a team producing videos, podcasts and articles that reach millions daily across various platforms. “We have one of the largest social media followings among international non-governmental organisations (NGOs),” she said. “But we couldn’t have done this without grassroots partnerships, especially in the Global South. There are setbacks—especially under current political climates—but advocacy still moves the needle.”

She finds the podcast medium especially suited “for immersive storytelling”. “Sound can take you back to so many things—the music you used to listen to as a teenager, for example, or that distinctive ‘meep-meep-mwwwr’ sound of a modem dialling up, which for Gen X will definitely take them back to a moment in a flash! It’s also a great medium for a deep dive, when people want to learn something or be transported somewhere.”

In 2016, she executive-produced The Heist, a five-episode podcast on Donald Trump’s first presidency and how he used tax policies to benefit rich people and wealthy corporations. It won several awards, including the Ambie (the podcast equivalent of an Emmy Award) for Best Business Podcast and was a finalist contender for the Alfred I duPont–Columbia University Award, which honours excellence in public service broadcast and digital journalism.

Under Ms Fong’s leadership, HRW launched the Rights and Wrongs podcast, which explores issues from child labour to war crimes with a human-centred lens to explain “really complex issues around the world in accessible ways”. For instance, one episode examined the volatile situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the region’s mineral-resource power struggles. “We called the episode ‘The Real-Life Vibranium Wars’ after the Hollywood blockbuster Black Panther, which helps a lot of people outside the region understand the issues in a more accessible fashion,” Ms Fong said. “The documentary form, of course, is also a great format for storytelling, and I’m so excited because I just heard that one of ours, Swept — on unhoused people being criminalised in Los Angeles — has been nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Short Documentary category.”

Advocacy in Action
While her craft is rooted in traditional storytelling, Ms Fong embraces today’s evolving media landscape. “I started HRW’s TikTok channel because the medium is one in which activists can tell their stories and find empowerment and solidarity,” she said.  “Initially, there was some trepidation about how our reports on discrimination, crimes against humanity and so on would find traction on this platform. But we’ve had videos go viral on issues like flooding in Pakistan, or the death of Iranian Mahsa Amini while in police custody [for not complying with state-imposed religious dress],” she said.

Asked how easy or difficult it is to reach out to audiences outside America, such as Singapore or Malaysia, Ms Fong says “the difficulty lies not in finding stories that resonate, but the resources”. This is all more evident today as the current Trump administration strips funding away from content channels such as Radio Free Asia. She also cites how the Internet’s decimation of mainstream media’s business model has led to less international coverage, for example.

HRW stories, she adds, resonated not just in the regions where these things happened, but globally. “People do care, and not just about issues in their backyard,” she stressed. “It’s just that it’s getting harder and harder to have the resources to be able to make sure audiences have access to credible reports. It’s a costly business to research and create accurate, balanced reportage. And it gets doubly harder when the modes and channels to distribute these stories are blocked, cut back or drowned out by the clamour of disinformation.”

And while she believes that “social media has also been used as a tool to spread disinformation and hate”, Ms Fong is certainly in favour of more forms and mediums where people can tell their stories and find community. And for that to be achievable, funding is essential. She clarifies, “There has to be a recognition that journalism is a public good and funded accordingly — it’s part of the good infrastructure of a well-ordered society in the way that roads or libraries are. Leaving it strictly to the private sector has not been ideal with the current profit model that incentivises sensationalism and hate.”

Now based in Washington DC, Ms Fong—who is married to author and journalism professor Andrew Lih and is the mother of teenage twin boys—has a front-row seat to a turbulent chapter in American politics. As President Donald Trump continues to keep the world’s leaders on edge amid an impending global trade war, Ms Fong is hopeful that tensions over the implementation of tariffs will lead more people “to question things and not take their rights for granted.” “These aren’t normal times,” she adds. “From immigration raids to layoffs, the American dream is fraying.”

Finding Balance
To balance the intensity of her work, Ms Fong carves out time for simple pleasures. Her list includes weekends in pyjamas, reading as her sons bring her coffee in bed. “That’s my idea of luxury,” she said with a laugh. Her reading list is as eclectic as her career — from Southeast Asian fiction to high-concept fantasy like Babel by Rebecca Kuang.

Asked if she had considered returning to Singapore to guest lecture or teach at her alma mater, Ms Fong said she was just back in the country last year. “I try to fit in a visit every time I head back to visit my family in Kuala Lumpur. I still have relatives in Singapore, and lots of ties and good friends there,” she shared. “I love teaching and have also taught at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School and Shantou University. I try to mentor and give back because I know I wouldn’t have gotten where I am without a lot of support and encouragement.”

As mentioned earlier, her illustrious career did in fact begin in Singapore. “My first journalism job was writing about Singapore’s sexiest celebrities at The New Paper. I also interned at (weekly print-turned-digital magazine) 8 Days, where Army Daze playwright Michael Chiang was my boss! I also had a stint at women’s lifestyle magazine Her World.”

It’s not quite what one associates with a Pulitzer winner, perhaps. “The key to a fruitful career path is adaptation ― career progressions are rarely linear,” she said. “To be successful and grow, you need to be comfortable with being a little uncomfortable by challenging yourself, putting yourself in unfamiliar surroundings or working with people who are more well-informed, forcing you to keep up. Since the element of constant change is inherent in journalism ― you’re only as good as your last story ― I’ve been conditioned to this from the start of my career.”