Bill Birtles
Bill Birtles is the ABC's Indonesia correspondent, based in Jakarta.
Bill was previously the East Asia correspondent, working from Taiwan and China. Since his posting in Beijing in 2015, he has covered some of the biggest stories of recent years, including the rise of Xi Jinping, the US-China trade war, the Hong Kong protests and upheaval in the Australia-China relationship.
He has reported from South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and from southern China right up to the North Korean border. Prior to the posting in Beijing, he was a news and current affairs journalist in Sydney and also worked for the ABC's Asia Pacific News Centre in Melbourne with a focus on China.
He has previously studied Mandarin in Beijing and worked in Chinese television, and published his book, The Truth About China, in 2021.
Bill was previously the East Asia correspondent, working from Taiwan and China. Since his posting in Beijing in 2015, he has covered some of the biggest stories of recent years, including the rise of Xi Jinping, the US-China trade war, the Hong Kong protests and upheaval in the Australia-China relationship.
He has reported from South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and from southern China right up to the North Korean border. Prior to the posting in Beijing, he was a news and current affairs journalist in Sydney and also worked for the ABC's Asia Pacific News Centre in Melbourne with a focus on China.
He has previously studied Mandarin in Beijing and worked in Chinese television, and published his book, The Truth About China, in 2021.
