The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science is excited to welcome Chermaine Lee as Journalist in Residence from September to October 2024.

Chermaine Lee is a freelance multimedia journalist from Hong Kong who is now based in Berlin. She covers human rights and climate issues in Asia and Europe. She learned the ropes of journalism doing field production covering Hong Kong’s biggest pro-democracy protests in history. She writes feature articles, produces videos, TV packages, and podcasts for a range of media, including Deutsche Welle, BBC Future, CNN, Fair Planet, Voice of America, Sustainable Asia, and others.

She has been Climate Tracker’s COP28 in-person climate justice reporting fellow, completed a six-month LEDE fellowship in solutions journalism, and was a member of the Oxford Climate Journalism Network.

Project: Climate Colonization in Asia 

Chermaine’s research project looks into the impacts of colonialism on countries vulnerable to extreme weather events, with a special focus on Asia. Examples include the energy colonialism in Hokkaido and bushfires in India. Through the lens of history and modern analysis, Chermaine plans to produce journalistic work on the best and the most just climate solutions suitable for Asia amid increasingly frequent and severe disasters.

During her time at the MPIWG, Chermaine will be based in Department II, “Knowledge Systems and Collective Life.”