After 11 years of bringing you local reporting, the team behind the Vancouver Observer has moved on to Canada's National Observer. You can follow Vancouver culture reporting over there from now on. Thank you for all your support over the years!

Niko Bell

Niko Bell is a freelance journalist from Vancouver, BC. He is a Mandarin speaker and Sinophile, and loves exploring the Chinese world at home and abroad.

Niko graduated with first-class honours in journalism from the University of King’s College in Halifax, and studied Chinese language and culture for two years at the University of Nanjing and the University of Yunnan.

Jeff Vanderveen's kidney failure and the miracle of modern medicine

It took his wife, parents and two police officers to coax Vanderveen back to the hospital.