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)

A vote for the status quo

Mar 23, 2007
Hong Kong chooses its next leader on Sunday. There's not much suspense about the outcome, since political stability means economic prosperity. Scott Tong reports.

'Election' in Hong Kong this weekend

Mar 23, 2007
It's not the kind of democracy we're used to, but Hong Kong's business community will vote Sunday to keep Donald Tsang as head of government there. It's pretty much a no-brainer considering the booming economy.

China wants to build passenger planes

Mar 19, 2007
The Chinese government says it plans to compete with Boeing and Airbus in making passenger jets. Our Shanghai correspondent, Scott Tong, gets into the details with host Scott Jagow.

Putting a price on foreign investment

Mar 16, 2007
China has a new corporate tax law for foreigners who want to do business there. Scott Tong went to Hunan Province, where business people say it's about time.

Paulson walks fine line in China

Mar 8, 2007
Washington wants economic change in China and wants it now, but analysts say U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is playing it smart by taking the soft line.

Paulson takes open-markets message to China

Mar 7, 2007
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is expected to tell the Shanghai Futures Exchange on Thursday that it's time for China to get serious about opening its markets. Marketplace's Scott Tong talks with Kai Ryssdal about what's at stake.

Paulson's back in China

Mar 7, 2007
Some in Congress are getting anxious about the Chinese currency situation, but that's just one of the things U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is in Shanghai to talk about, and change isn't likely to happen overnight.

Chinese debate some capitalistic issues

Mar 5, 2007
China's socialists were making waves on the first day of the yearly meeting of the Chinese parliament today in Beijing. But Scott Tong reports that most eyes are on a few pressing business matters.

China tries to plug its wage gap

Mar 5, 2007
Leaders in China are concerned that the nation's wealth is too concentrated in the hands of a few, but not everyone's convinced the momentum of the widening gap between rich and poor can be stopped.

Find your child a mate? It's a walk in the park

Feb 21, 2007
Tens of millions of China's young people are unmarried and too busy working in the new Chinese economy to look for spouses. In Shanghai, parents are lending a hand with a trip to People's Park. Scott Tong reports.