Interviews & Videos

Interviews & Videos

Last Boat out of Shanghai:

The Epic Story of the Chinese who Fled Mao’s Revolution
KQED Thuy Vu Interview:
An Interview with Helen Zia by KQED Newsroom’s Thuy Vu about Helen’s new book: Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese who Fled Mao’s Revolution.
Interview with Robin Morgan on WMC Live:
WMC Live #272: Helen Zia. (Original Airdate 1/20/2019)
Robin Morgan interviews Helen Zia about her book and relevance to today’s events.  Listen on the WMC website.
Steve Inskeep on NPR
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the communist revolution in China. NPR’s Steve Inskeep talks to Helen Zia, who wrote a book about the Chinese who fled the revolution.
CNN International: Helen Zia to Carry the Olympic Torch before the opening of the Summer Olympics in Beijing 2008
StartTV: The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Helen Zia published her first book, Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People, in 2000. She is the former Executive Editor of Ms. Magazine, and her award-winning articles and essays have appeared in numerous publications. Zia is also featured in the Academy Award-nominated documentary Who Killed Vincent Chin? A graduate of Princeton University, Zia quit medical school after two years to follow her passion, social justice. Her latest book The Last Boat Out of Shanghai chronicles the mass exodus from China following the 1949 Communist revolution.
Rick Quan’s Video of Helen Zia, aired in 2013 when the Chinese Historical Society of America honored Helen with its History Maker Award at its Voice and Vision Gala.
Here, Helen Zia is shown at a city-wide protest on the injustice and hate killing of Vincent Chin in Detroit, 1982.
Interview with Rachel Myrow on KQED radio:
A very informative interview with Helen Zia about her new book, Last Boat Out of Shanghai, by Rachel Myrow on San Francisco’s KQED radio program.  Listen on the KQED website.
Interview with Bert Zipperer on WORT radio:
Bert Zipperer interviews Helen Zia about her new book, Last Boat Out of Shanghai, on Madison Wisconson’s WORT radio program.  Listen on the WORT website.
CCTV USA Interview: 
Helen Zia in 2015 on the 78th anniversary of the Rape of Nanjing and the continued failure of the Japanese government to acknowledge the extent of their war crimes and human rights violations in that forgotten holocaust.
Last Boat Out of Shanghai
Helen Zia talked about her book, Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao’s Revolution, in which she reported on the four individuals who fled Shanghai following the 1949 Chinese Communist Revolution.
On this edition of Your Call, we speak with Chinese-American journalist and writer Helen Zia about her new book, Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao’s Revolution. Zia tells the story through the eyes of four young people who fled Shanghai during the Communist revolution in 1949.
Drawing from hundreds of interviews, Zia retells these experiences with rich and harrowing detail. How do war, foreign occupation, and exile shape families and futures, and change the way we see ourselves and those around us?

Helen Zia – Shanghai Exodus 1949

Helen Zia – Shanghai Exodus 1949 from Edward Wong on Vimeo.

Helen Zia describes the social and historical context for the exodus of over one million people who escaped the turmoils of war and revolution in Shanghai 1949.

Helen Zia – My Mother’s Inspiration

Helen Zia – My Mother’s Inspiration from Edward Wong on Vimeo.

This video is about how Helen Zia was inspired by her mother’s story of abandonment.

Helen Zia Book Talk -Oakland Asian Cultural Center

Helen Zia Book Talk -Oakland Asian Cultural Center from Edward Wong on Vimeo.

This video is about Helen Zia’s book Last Boat Out of Shanghai. This book talk was done at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center on January 27, 2019.

Benny & Doreen’s Story

Benny & Doreen’s Story from Edward Wong on Vimeo.

This video is about Benny and Doreen and how they became separated in Shanghai in 1949. This video was shot at the The Last Boat Out of Shanghai book talk at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center on Jan. 27, 2019.

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