Portia Li

Portia Li is a Chinese-American journalist. Until 2020, she was a senior reporter in the Millbrae, California office of the World Journal, the largest Chinese-language newspaper in the United States. Li is known for the 2001 expose of a Chinatown extortion ring.

In 2020, Li founded the weekly Chinese-English bilingual Wind Newspaper / 風報, covering the San Francisco region. Li serves as publisher and editor.

Biography Li, a native of Hong Kong, is the daughter of a Hong Kong businessman. After graduating from journalism school in Taiwan, she worked for three years for Hong Kong's largest daily newspaper Oriental Daily News. Li came to the US in 1984, continued her education with a master's degree from Utah State University, and started reporting in San Francisco for the World Journal in 1986. Li has twice been awarded for her journalism by the Northern California Chinese Media Association and the Society for Professional Journalists.

Investigative and campaigning journalism A Wall Street Journal leader column described Li as one of the "firebrand journalists" of the American ethnic press.

In 2015 Li covered the gender discrimination case brought by the Chinese-American executive Ellen Pao. According to Li it was one of the World Journal's top stories, measured by hits on the paper's website.