1 May 2024 – The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation announces the addition of Shannon Van Sant as Strategy and Public Affairs Advisor based in Washington D.C., where she will advise on the foundation’s development, government relations, and public affairs campaigns.
Prior to joining the CFHK Foundation, Shannon worked as a journalist and OSINT analyst for nearly 20 years, and lived for 11 of those years in Beijing and Hong Kong. Shannon reported on the ground across 20 provinces and autonomous regions in mainland China, on Chinese investment in Sub-Saharan and East Africa, and filmed documentaries on human rights and humanitarian issues, including the migration routes of North Korean refugees.
Shannon’s work has been honored with a Human Rights Press Award from Amnesty International and the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong, and in 2014 she reported on Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement.
Shannon’s recent reporting, OSINT research and analysis has focused on technology and national security, and she has advised government and private clients on foreign malign influence and political interference from the Kremlin and Chinese Communist Party.
The CFHK Foundation’s Advisor Shannon Van Sant said:
“I am honored to join the effort to free Hong Kong’s political prisoners. Beijing could have embraced Hong Kong as a bridge to the world. Instead, it strangled the city’s freedoms, transforming it from a place of dynamism to one of fear. The Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown on Hong Kong is ongoing and is a warning and bellwether for the world. I am excited to have a role developing strategy around human rights and humanitarian issues I have long cared about.”
The CFHK Foundation’s U.S. Director Jonathan Stivers said:
"The CFHK Foundation is thrilled that Shannon Van Sant is joining our team. Her experience and expertise will be a tremendous asset for our work promoting freedom and human rights in Hong Kong."