Scott Tong

Correspondent

SHORT BIO

Scott Tong is a former correspondent for Marketplace. He reported on sustainability issues (energy, climate, environment, resources) for Marketplace, as well as the U.S.-China technology relationship, frequently described as “fraught.” He is Marketplace’s former China bureau chief.

What was your first job?

English-language audiotape (yes, tape) voice-over work. Sixth grade.Taiwan.

What advice do you wish someone had given you before you started this career?

Show up an hour before the interview.

Fill in the blank: Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you ______.

Gas for kid carpools; Washington Capitals hockey tickets.

What is something that everyone should own, no matter how much it costs?

Smoker (plus wooden slotted spoon).

What’s your most memorable Marketplace moment?

Sneaking into Burma for twenty bucks.

Latest Stories (1,339)

Quake puts focus on China dam building

May 15, 2008
Troops have been dispatched to shore up nearly 400 dams damaged by the Sichuan province earthquake. Mother Nature's mostly to blame, but there are worries over human error, too, since China has been exporting its dam-building expertise. Scott Tong reports.

Were collapsed schools substandard?

May 14, 2008
Grieving Chinese parents want to know why as many as nine schools collapsed in the massive earthquake in China Monday, killing their children. From Shanghai, Scott Tong reports that many wonder if substandard buildings were at fault.

Will China accept help for earthquake?

May 13, 2008
With the death toll from China's Sichuan Province earthquake at more than 12,000 and expected to rise, aid offers are coming in from around the globe. But will Beijing be receptive to assistance or choose to go it alone? Scott Tong reports.

Relief groups tackle two Asian disasters

May 13, 2008
Asia now faces the aftermath of double disasters -- the quake in China and the cyclone in Myanmar. Relief groups say they have supplies to send to both countries, but getting them there is another story. Scott Tong reports from Shanghai.

China quake death toll tops 8,600

May 12, 2008
More than 8,600 people are known dead from a 7.8 earthquake that hit the southwest China province of Sichuan. Host Kai Ryssdal gets the lastest details from Marketplace's China correspondent Scott Tong.

Quake-rattled China also hit by inflation

May 12, 2008
In China, consumer prices approach a 12-year high, leading to a global fear that Chinese factories are hiking prices for everyone. Scott Tong reports from Shanghai on commodity prices and inflation in China.

Thousands feared dead in China quake

May 12, 2008
The death toll is rising in China, hit today by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. Production halted at several car factories and power is out across a wide area. Scott Tong in Shanghai describes Sichuan province, where the quake hit hard.

China's appetite is gobbling up supplies

May 7, 2008
Bad harvests, bad weather, bio-fuel policy.... They could all conceivably turn around. But over the long term there's one big unknown we can't really control: the growing collective appetite of China's 1.3 billion people. Scott Tong reports.

Asian rivals to look to common interests

May 5, 2008
Chinese President Hu Jintao leaves Tuesday for a five-day visit of Japan aimed at healing tensions between Asia's two biggest rivals. They're expected to unveil a plan for managing their economic interests in the coming years. Scott Tong reports.

China's tighter visa rules slow business

May 2, 2008
With about three months to go before the China Olympics, Beijing is being picky about who it's letting in. Chinese visas are getting harder to come by, and foreign businessmen are crying foul. Scott Tong reports.