Dake Kang

Dake Kang is an investigative reporter for The Associated Press in Beijing, where he has been based since 2018. Dake spearheaded coverage of China’s initial response to COVID-19 that was a finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting. His previous work with colleagues on the government crackdown in Xinjiang has won numerous awards, including the Osborn Elliott Prize, a Sigma Delta Chi Award, and multiple nods from the Overseas Press Club. He's also reported on bride trafficking, China's zero-COVID policy, and the 2019 Hong Kong protests, among other topics. Before China, Dake reported from Cleveland, Thailand, New York, Philadelphia, Iowa and India. Dake is a Korean American from New Jersey who grew up in Shanghai. He graduated from the University of Chicago, where he studied history and math, and wrote his thesis on the construction of Beijing’s first subway.