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)

China set to complete its BeiDou satellite network, rival to GPS

Jun 2, 2020
The Asian giant will soon launch the last location-tracking satellite for a system that has economic, communications and military applications.
A satellite orbits Earth. China's network will have broad applications in the future.
NASA/Newsmakers

U.S. business lobby warns administration against ending Hong Kong's status

May 26, 2020
U.S. officials suggest countering Beijing by downgrading ties with Hong Kong, drawing protests from business lobby.
Protesters take over the streets of Hong Kong last year. The global financial center is at risk of losing its special status with the U.S.
Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

China scraps GDP target in rough economic times, but some reformers cheer

May 22, 2020
Reformers hope the lack of an economic growth target means policymakers can move beyond short-term thinking toward longer-term priorities.
Workers at a shipyard in China's Jiangsu province. For the first time, China has not set a GDP growth target.
STR/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. automakers press Mexican partners to restart, rejoin supply chain

May 18, 2020
As U.S automakers restart operations this week, they're pressuring critical suppliers in Mexico to fire up the assembly lines as well, despite significant pandemic risk.
A worker wearing a face mask at a Mercedes-Benz factory. A Mercedes plant in Alabama suspended production because it can't get the necessary parts from Mexico.
Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

Hacking hospitals: ransom notes and dark web chatter from health-care extortionists

May 14, 2020
The dark web is also a meeting place for malware buyers, sellers and collaborators.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

What House Democrats have proposed for a new COVID-19 stimulus bill

The $3 trillion bill proposes another round of direct checks to Americans.
Both sides have their demands, but will Republicans and Democrats be forced by necessity to find a middle ground?
Graeme Jennings/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Imports way off as COVID-19 slams into U.S.-China trade

May 7, 2020
The ambitious trade deal was signed just weeks before the pandemic hit.
A worker at a container port in Wuhan, China, in April. The U.S.-China trade deal hangs in the balance as COVID-19 has made some of the conditions hard to meet.
Getty Images

In their own words: corporate first responders on frontline of production war

May 5, 2020
We hear from people at a coronavirus test-making facility in Maryland.
A COVID-19 testing lab in New York.
Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images

Texas oil regulator throws in the towel on supply cut

May 4, 2020
Low crude oil prices have already achieved what regulators were seeking: to cut state production.
The sun sets behind smoke rising from a refining plant in Houston.
Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images

Chinese factories are returning, but global supply chain remains uncertain

Apr 28, 2020
Cranking up the global manufacturing machine is not just about China.
Workers in face masks at a car seat factory in Shanghai.
Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images