“VOA means a lot to me. To some extent, it changed my entire life. When I was a teenager, I always used shortwave radio to listen to VOA secretly in China. You can’t imagine; at that time, listening to ‘enemy radio’ was an offense punishable by imprisonment, but I did it anyway. VOA provided me with a new way to see the U.S. and this world. Since then, I feel like exploring the truth and broadcasting it freely is really important and this is what pushed me to be a journalist. I love my team and I always spend time with them because I want to learn every step of their process. Speaking of management philosophy, I think inspiring people is the key to success. You should make people feel they are important. Miscommunication is the biggest challenge. It’s always better to talk about things rather than being silent. My expectation for VOA’s China Branch is for it to become the most reliable source of Mandarin news all over the world.”
Sasha Gong is not only VOA’s China Branch Chief, but also a historian, sociologist, blogger, and writer. Born and raised in Guangzhou, China, she came to the United States in 1987 to seek freedom. She studied at Harvard and obtained her PhD in sociology. Before Sasha came to VOA, she worked as a manger of Radio Free Asia’s Cantonese Service for several years. Moreover, she ran for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2009. She wrote about her experiences and thoughts in her book “Born American: A Chinese Woman’s Dream of Liberty.”