Sophia Yan
@sophiayan.bsky.social
Telegraph Senior Foreign Correspondent | Marie Colvin Award Winner | Posts: 🌍🌏🌎🎹🎶🥃🍜🧘🏻♀️| Now: IST Then: TPE PEK HKG TYO NYC DCA HNL
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Sophia Yan
@sophiayan.bsky.social
· May 3
Revealed: How people smuggling is arranged on the British high street
Money exchange shops are working directly with human smugglers to help them evade police
www.telegraph.co.uk
We went undercover & filmed covertly @telegraphnews.bsky.social to unveil how human #smugglers exploit legitimate networks to move illicit proceeds around the world - incl through the UK 💸🌎
My latest on a long-term investigation that spans Kabul to Birmingham
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05...
My latest on a long-term investigation that spans Kabul to Birmingham
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05...
Reposted by Sophia Yan
Very interesting interview with Sophia Yan (Senior Foreign Correspondent of the Telegraph) on Friday's #Ukraine:TheLatest podcast (www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMI8...) about China's role in supplying Russia with dual-use technologies and materials.
Huge explosion at ‘vital’ Russia oil refinery | Ukraine: The Latest
YouTube video by The Telegraph
www.youtube.com
September 6, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Very interesting interview with Sophia Yan (Senior Foreign Correspondent of the Telegraph) on Friday's #Ukraine:TheLatest podcast (www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMI8...) about China's role in supplying Russia with dual-use technologies and materials.
A v late repost of a story I did 😬🤭
How China is secretly arming Russia. @telegraphnews.bsky.social has found Chinese companies supplying Russian firms sanctioned over drone production for Moscow’s war machine. By @sophiayan.bsky.social.
Link : www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Link : www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
November 7, 2025 at 12:03 PM
A v late repost of a story I did 😬🤭
Obulqasim Isma’il, a #Uyghur, was given a new passport w the wrong name & DOB. The #Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan, where he lives with his family, refused to correct it
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
China’s passport trap: A new front in the global war on Uyghurs
Threat to chef living in Kyrgyzstan raises spectre of new sinister tactics to crack down on persecuted minority
www.telegraph.co.uk
August 5, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Obulqasim Isma’il, a #Uyghur, was given a new passport w the wrong name & DOB. The #Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan, where he lives with his family, refused to correct it
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
'Consultants' charging #migrants $$$ to help fake their way into #Europe w fraudulent paperwork – fake CVs, fake job references, fake bank statements
A scam of such breadth & depth to obtain real, approved visas
My latest @telegraphnews.bsky.social investigation
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
A scam of such breadth & depth to obtain real, approved visas
My latest @telegraphnews.bsky.social investigation
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Revealed: Pakistani migrants tricking way into Britain with fake £50k visa documents
Paperwork approved by Home Office despite being littered with grammatical errors
www.telegraph.co.uk
July 22, 2025 at 7:39 AM
'Consultants' charging #migrants $$$ to help fake their way into #Europe w fraudulent paperwork – fake CVs, fake job references, fake bank statements
A scam of such breadth & depth to obtain real, approved visas
My latest @telegraphnews.bsky.social investigation
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
A scam of such breadth & depth to obtain real, approved visas
My latest @telegraphnews.bsky.social investigation
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
‘Obliterated,’ declares #Trump, ‘Nothing significant,’ says #Khamenei. Was the uranium spirited away first? Many questions...
So how badly damaged is #Iran's #nuclear program?
Insights @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social @ddolzikova.bsky.social Farzan Sabet
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
So how badly damaged is #Iran's #nuclear program?
Insights @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social @ddolzikova.bsky.social Farzan Sabet
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
How badly damaged is Iran’s nuclear programme? Here’s the evidence
‘Obliterated,’ declares Trump, ‘Nothing significant,’ says Khamenei. And was the uranium spirited away first? Questions need answering
www.telegraph.co.uk
June 27, 2025 at 9:23 AM
‘Obliterated,’ declares #Trump, ‘Nothing significant,’ says #Khamenei. Was the uranium spirited away first? Many questions...
So how badly damaged is #Iran's #nuclear program?
Insights @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social @ddolzikova.bsky.social Farzan Sabet
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
So how badly damaged is #Iran's #nuclear program?
Insights @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social @ddolzikova.bsky.social Farzan Sabet
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Very interesting analysis @mixedmigration.org on potential #migration impact from #Israel-#Iran war if ceasefire doesn't hold & conflict continues
Take the scenario of #Syria. At peak of civil war, 1/4 of its 23m pop fled abroad; another 1/4 internally displaced (+thread)
Take the scenario of #Syria. At peak of civil war, 1/4 of its 23m pop fled abroad; another 1/4 internally displaced (+thread)
June 27, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Very interesting analysis @mixedmigration.org on potential #migration impact from #Israel-#Iran war if ceasefire doesn't hold & conflict continues
Take the scenario of #Syria. At peak of civil war, 1/4 of its 23m pop fled abroad; another 1/4 internally displaced (+thread)
Take the scenario of #Syria. At peak of civil war, 1/4 of its 23m pop fled abroad; another 1/4 internally displaced (+thread)
Reposted by Sophia Yan
🚨SPECIAL🎙️EPISODE: In this NüVoices Special episode, host and board member @sophiayan.bsky.social talks to Amanda Hsiao, director in Eurasia Group’s China practice, to look back on the first five months of Trump 2.0, and what we can learn from US-China relations: nuvoices.com/2025/06/25/n...
June 27, 2025 at 5:43 AM
🚨SPECIAL🎙️EPISODE: In this NüVoices Special episode, host and board member @sophiayan.bsky.social talks to Amanda Hsiao, director in Eurasia Group’s China practice, to look back on the first five months of Trump 2.0, and what we can learn from US-China relations: nuvoices.com/2025/06/25/n...
ICYMI
View from #Beirut where many feel avenged by #Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel, which has invaded #Lebanon 3x + attacked countless times
(Am filing faster than I can post so please follow @telegraphnews.bsky.social for more)
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
View from #Beirut where many feel avenged by #Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel, which has invaded #Lebanon 3x + attacked countless times
(Am filing faster than I can post so please follow @telegraphnews.bsky.social for more)
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Watch: Lebanese dance and cheer under missiles heading for Israel
‘It’s payback’ – some see the attack as retribution for Israeli air strikes last year
www.telegraph.co.uk
June 19, 2025 at 8:26 PM
ICYMI
View from #Beirut where many feel avenged by #Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel, which has invaded #Lebanon 3x + attacked countless times
(Am filing faster than I can post so please follow @telegraphnews.bsky.social for more)
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
View from #Beirut where many feel avenged by #Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel, which has invaded #Lebanon 3x + attacked countless times
(Am filing faster than I can post so please follow @telegraphnews.bsky.social for more)
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
#Hezbollah supporters believe the militant group is ready to join the #war against #Israel once #Iran gives the order
Even w less firepower + men, Hezbollah can still distract/tire out Israeli military
Dispatch from Dahieh, a Hezb stronghold
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Even w less firepower + men, Hezbollah can still distract/tire out Israeli military
Dispatch from Dahieh, a Hezb stronghold
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Hezbollah hurting, but its fighters are ready to join war on Israel
Air strike that took out military leader fuels supporters’ demands for retaliation to help Iran
www.telegraph.co.uk
June 19, 2025 at 8:22 PM
#Hezbollah supporters believe the militant group is ready to join the #war against #Israel once #Iran gives the order
Even w less firepower + men, Hezbollah can still distract/tire out Israeli military
Dispatch from Dahieh, a Hezb stronghold
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Even w less firepower + men, Hezbollah can still distract/tire out Israeli military
Dispatch from Dahieh, a Hezb stronghold
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Why #Xi + #Putin - #Iran’s strongest strategic partners - are panicking right now 🤯🤬🤢
Analysis @telegraphnews.bsky.social
Insights 🙏 @geringtuvia.bsky.social @nicolegrajewski.bsky.social
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Analysis @telegraphnews.bsky.social
Insights 🙏 @geringtuvia.bsky.social @nicolegrajewski.bsky.social
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Why Putin and Xi will be panicking over Iran
Russian and Chinese leaders in danger of losing a key partner in the fight against US hegemony in the region
www.telegraph.co.uk
June 16, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Why #Xi + #Putin - #Iran’s strongest strategic partners - are panicking right now 🤯🤬🤢
Analysis @telegraphnews.bsky.social
Insights 🙏 @geringtuvia.bsky.social @nicolegrajewski.bsky.social
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Analysis @telegraphnews.bsky.social
Insights 🙏 @geringtuvia.bsky.social @nicolegrajewski.bsky.social
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Gone are the sprawling #refugee tent camps. Frontex touted a 78% drop in irregular #border crossings for 2024 on the Western Balkan route
But human #smuggling is still in force — it’s just moved underground & therefore not reflected in the data
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
#migration
But human #smuggling is still in force — it’s just moved underground & therefore not reflected in the data
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
#migration
EU says illegal migration has dropped, but I saw the reality on the ground
Along the Serbia-Hungary border, The Telegraph finds plenty willing to gamble for a better life
www.telegraph.co.uk
June 8, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Gone are the sprawling #refugee tent camps. Frontex touted a 78% drop in irregular #border crossings for 2024 on the Western Balkan route
But human #smuggling is still in force — it’s just moved underground & therefore not reflected in the data
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
#migration
But human #smuggling is still in force — it’s just moved underground & therefore not reflected in the data
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
#migration
#Chinese technology pioneered in East Turkistan (aka #Xinjiang) against the #Uyghurs… rolls out to #Turkey
#Turkey is accelerating its use of facial recognition to detain and prosecute protesters - often with little or no evidence. I’ve been investigating how #AI is contributing to the erosion of the rule of law & supercharging authoritarianism 🧵
newlinesmag.com/spotlight/tu... @newlinesmag.bsky.social
newlinesmag.com/spotlight/tu... @newlinesmag.bsky.social
Turkey’s AI-Powered Protest Crackdown
Documents show that Ankara is expanding facial recognition policing while circumventing legal safeguards, charging demonstrators with little to no proof of wrongdoing
newlinesmag.com
June 6, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Reposted by Sophia Yan
2/ Nearly 2,000 mostly young people were detained during the March protests against the arrest of #Istanbul's mayor, #Imamoglu. 819 are facing charges in 20 investigations - many arrested in dawn raids, held for weeks without trial. Often, their “crime” was just being present.
June 5, 2025 at 2:09 PM
2/ Nearly 2,000 mostly young people were detained during the March protests against the arrest of #Istanbul's mayor, #Imamoglu. 819 are facing charges in 20 investigations - many arrested in dawn raids, held for weeks without trial. Often, their “crime” was just being present.
Reposted by Sophia Yan
4/ A Chinese-made Hikvision camera was spotted at a major Istanbul rally. It matches a model listed in a Turkish interior ministry document - capable of detecting 120 faces simultaneously.
June 5, 2025 at 2:09 PM
4/ A Chinese-made Hikvision camera was spotted at a major Istanbul rally. It matches a model listed in a Turkish interior ministry document - capable of detecting 120 faces simultaneously.
Reposted by Sophia Yan
5/ In late 2024, Turkey's police bought 3,500 facial recognition cameras and 278 servers. In 2025, more contracts and tenders followed - including one for 13,000 new cameras, published just a day before the mayor’s arrest.
June 5, 2025 at 2:09 PM
5/ In late 2024, Turkey's police bought 3,500 facial recognition cameras and 278 servers. In 2025, more contracts and tenders followed - including one for 13,000 new cameras, published just a day before the mayor’s arrest.
Interesting
I’m a freedom-loving conservative. I left the Republican Party 5yrs ago. Today, I’m doing something I never thought I’d do - I’m formally joining the Democratic Party. Here’s why:👇 open.substack.com/pub/socialco...
From the TEA Party to the Democratic Party
Yup, I'm finally making the leap
open.substack.com
June 4, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Interesting
Police watchdog blasts UK authorities for being too laser-focused on small boat crossings, leading to "missed opportunities" to respond to other routes that migrants are using as guided by #smugglers - ie via trucks, visa fraud
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Migrants sneak into UK in lorries while police ‘too focused on small boats’
Watchdog says chances are being missed to intercept illegal immigrants who take less high-profile routes
www.telegraph.co.uk
May 20, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Police watchdog blasts UK authorities for being too laser-focused on small boat crossings, leading to "missed opportunities" to respond to other routes that migrants are using as guided by #smugglers - ie via trucks, visa fraud
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Reposted by Sophia Yan
Thank you to @sophiayan.bsky.social for featuring our newly released Criminalisation report for 2024 in this piece for @telegraphnews.bsky.social
Read Sophia's report here: www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
bsky.app/profile/bord...
Read Sophia's report here: www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
bsky.app/profile/bord...
April 28, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Thank you to @sophiayan.bsky.social for featuring our newly released Criminalisation report for 2024 in this piece for @telegraphnews.bsky.social
Read Sophia's report here: www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
bsky.app/profile/bord...
Read Sophia's report here: www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
bsky.app/profile/bord...
We went undercover & filmed covertly @telegraphnews.bsky.social to unveil how human #smugglers exploit legitimate networks to move illicit proceeds around the world - incl through the UK 💸🌎
My latest on a long-term investigation that spans Kabul to Birmingham
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05...
My latest on a long-term investigation that spans Kabul to Birmingham
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05...
Revealed: How people smuggling is arranged on the British high street
Money exchange shops are working directly with human smugglers to help them evade police
www.telegraph.co.uk
May 3, 2025 at 11:07 AM
We went undercover & filmed covertly @telegraphnews.bsky.social to unveil how human #smugglers exploit legitimate networks to move illicit proceeds around the world - incl through the UK 💸🌎
My latest on a long-term investigation that spans Kabul to Birmingham
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05...
My latest on a long-term investigation that spans Kabul to Birmingham
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05...
Enjoyed reading the same essay:
I found this Substack essay by Natalia Cote-Munoz quite well-written and an accurate snapshot of China at the present moment.* Also, who doesn’t love a shout out to the late, great Knights and Merchants Bar, the hidden gem of Guozijian? ncotemunoz.substack.com/p/the-china-...
April 21, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Enjoyed reading the same essay:
#Chinese firms openly selling “inflatable boats for #refugees” online & advertising them to smugglers.
Over 3 mos @telegraphnews.bsky.social tracked English-language ads posted online by seven suppliers hawking “refugee boats." None taken down during that period
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Over 3 mos @telegraphnews.bsky.social tracked English-language ads posted online by seven suppliers hawking “refugee boats." None taken down during that period
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Shameless Chinese firms advertise ‘inflatable boats for refugees’
Salespeople spoke openly about their products even when told they would be used to transport migrants
www.telegraph.co.uk
April 21, 2025 at 1:47 PM
#Chinese firms openly selling “inflatable boats for #refugees” online & advertising them to smugglers.
Over 3 mos @telegraphnews.bsky.social tracked English-language ads posted online by seven suppliers hawking “refugee boats." None taken down during that period
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Over 3 mos @telegraphnews.bsky.social tracked English-language ads posted online by seven suppliers hawking “refugee boats." None taken down during that period
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Reposted by Sophia Yan
🆕 New UHRP research on dramatic 📈 increase in int'l hotels chains in the Uyghur region—by @peterirwin.bsky.social, @henrykszad.bsky.social, and Ben Carrdus.
Major 🏨 chains all operating amidst atrocities.
📊 uhrp.org/report/it-does-matter-where-you-stay-international-hotel-chains-in-east-turkistan
Major 🏨 chains all operating amidst atrocities.
📊 uhrp.org/report/it-does-matter-where-you-stay-international-hotel-chains-in-east-turkistan
April 17, 2025 at 2:24 PM
🆕 New UHRP research on dramatic 📈 increase in int'l hotels chains in the Uyghur region—by @peterirwin.bsky.social, @henrykszad.bsky.social, and Ben Carrdus.
Major 🏨 chains all operating amidst atrocities.
📊 uhrp.org/report/it-does-matter-where-you-stay-international-hotel-chains-in-east-turkistan
Major 🏨 chains all operating amidst atrocities.
📊 uhrp.org/report/it-does-matter-where-you-stay-international-hotel-chains-in-east-turkistan
British chain IHG, which owns #InterContinental, Holiday Inn & other brands, is accused of violating sanctions by building hotels in #China’s Xinjiang where MPs hv said genocide is occurring against Muslim groups, incl #Uyghurs. cc @uyghurproject.bsky.social
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
British hotel chain ‘violating sanctions’ in China
Report alleges IHG’s hotels in Xinjiang are participating in the ‘broader suppression’ of the Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority
www.telegraph.co.uk
April 21, 2025 at 1:30 PM
British chain IHG, which owns #InterContinental, Holiday Inn & other brands, is accused of violating sanctions by building hotels in #China’s Xinjiang where MPs hv said genocide is occurring against Muslim groups, incl #Uyghurs. cc @uyghurproject.bsky.social
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Hello, #Friday! A thread on this week's stories from yours truly....
Meet the #Syrians who remain determined to seek refuge in the #UK, in #Europe, even though #asylum claims have been frozen after the #Assad regime fell in December
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Meet the #Syrians who remain determined to seek refuge in the #UK, in #Europe, even though #asylum claims have been frozen after the #Assad regime fell in December
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Syrians still trying to cross Channel despite asylum claim freeze
Refugees say they ‘cannot start from scratch and change their dreams’ so continue to attempt treacherous journey to the UK
www.telegraph.co.uk
February 28, 2025 at 11:31 AM
'#Death boat' to #Europe... Only 11 migrants survived out of 80 after smugglers beat & killed them w hammers over an inter-gang payment dispute
Exclusive feature w esteemed colleague Mohammad Zubair Khan in Islamabad for @telegraphnews.bsky.social
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Exclusive feature w esteemed colleague Mohammad Zubair Khan in Islamabad for @telegraphnews.bsky.social
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
The ‘death boat’ to Europe where migrants are bound and beaten with hammers
Survivors divulge harrowing details of a botched smuggling deal that went horribly wrong
www.telegraph.co.uk
January 30, 2025 at 2:26 PM
'#Death boat' to #Europe... Only 11 migrants survived out of 80 after smugglers beat & killed them w hammers over an inter-gang payment dispute
Exclusive feature w esteemed colleague Mohammad Zubair Khan in Islamabad for @telegraphnews.bsky.social
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Exclusive feature w esteemed colleague Mohammad Zubair Khan in Islamabad for @telegraphnews.bsky.social
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...