LUCC News, May 2023

LUCC News, May 2023

The May 2023 edition of LUCC's newsletter is out.

You can read the newsletter via our mailing list - just send an email to china.centre@lancaster.ac.uk

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LUCC News: May 2023

Vittorio Tantucci March 14 seminar

Welcome to the May 2023 edition of LUCC’s newsletter. It’s an exciting summer term ahead, starting with Dr. Yunyan Li presenting on Chinese women’s experiences tomorrow (May 3), and Dr. Siao Yuong Fong (Rong) on Singapore’s transnational media production networks (May 18). This followed a busy Lent term of in-person events on outstanding China-related research, including Dr. Vittorio Tantucci’s Match 14 seminar on resonance in Chinese language (pictured above).

LUCC Doctoral Fellows are presenting their work this week (May 3-4) at the 2nd Annual Politics, Philosophy and Religion Postgraduate Researcher Conference. Convened by LUCC’s Xue Bai, the conference features several China-related topics including consumer boycotts, Mongolian language and Sinicization of Buddhism. Contact x.bai6@lancaster.ac.uk for details on how to attend.

We also have an exciting opportunity for Lancaster University postgraduates to work with us as on the LU China Research Map, a comprehensive showcase of Lancaster’s research on, in and with China. The successful applicant will liaise with the PURE Team and the web team to compile a comprehensive public-facing showcase of Lancaster’s China-related research.

Read on below for the latest China-related research at Lancaster, more summer internship opportunities, introductions to new fellows, and the latest interventions on China policy and current affairs from LUCC members..

Upcoming Events

3 May 2023

Exploring Women’s Lived Experience with the Human Dignity Approach: A Case Study from Rural and Urban China

Speakers: Yunyan Li, LUMS

Time: TOMORROW 1pm-2.30pm, Wednesday 3 May, 2023

Place: Charles Carter A16

**LUNCH SERVED - RSVP ESSENTIAL ** tochina.centre@lancaster.ac.uk

18May 2023

Transnational media production from the margins of ‘cultural China’

Speaker: Siao Yuong Fong (Rong)

Time: 1-230pm, Tuesday 18 May

Place: FASS Meeting Room A008 (next to Margaret Fell Lecture Theatre)

LUNCH SERVED - RSVP ESSENTIAL BY 11 MAY to china.centre@lancaster.ac.uk

Mapping China Research Across Disciplines: Current Trajectories and New Opportunities

Interdisciplinary Roundtable

Time & Place: TBA - register interest at china.centre@lancaster.ac.uk

Sino-Foreign Research Collaboration: The Evolving Funding Landscape

Interdisciplinary Roundtable

Time: Summer 2023

Place: TBA – register interest at china.centre@lancaster.ac.uk

Sino-Foreign Research Collaboration: Navigating the Security Minefield

Interdisciplinary Roundtable

Time: Summer 2023

Place: TBA - register interest at china.centre@lancaster.ac.uk

People

LUCC is thrilled to introduce three new fellows, Miaoxin Yang, Lily Wu, and Hao Yang.

Miaoxin Yang

Miaoxin Yang is a member of staff at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS), where she teaches International Trade and International Finance in the Department of International Business. Yang was selected for participation in the GDUFS Campus Euro-Asia Programme, and is a visiting scholar at LUCC for 2022-23.

Lily Wu

Lily Wu researches feminism in contemporary China, especially digital feminism and popular feminism. She is also interested in youth studies, gender and education.

Hao Yang

Hao Yang is an art practice-based researcher and PhD student in the Lancaster Institute of Contemporary Arts. Hao's research uses the the Chinese Taoist allegory of ‘the happy excursion’ to compose a set of art practices as a method to explore the 'digital Leviathan' monopolising and manipulating the individual’s way of thinking, sensing and being.

Profiles of all LUCC’s fellows are available at our People page.

Research News

Politics, Philosophy and Religion Postgraduate Researcher Annual Conference

LUCC Doctoral Fellows are presenting at the 2nd Annual Politics, Philosophy and Religion Postgraduate Conference this week (Weds-Thurs, 3-4 May). The conference will feature presentations of leading-edge research on China-related topics including consumer boycotts, Mongolian language, the Catholic Church in China, and Buddhist Sinicization. All are welcome, please contact convenor Xue Bai for further information: x.bai6@lancaster.ac.uk

Understanding Microplastics in the World’s Oceans and Rivers –Andy Sweetman

Professor Andy Sweetman, in collaboration with colleagues in Guangdong, Macau, Beijing and Nanjing, has published a crucial new study on microplastics in the aquatic environment. This was the first study to quantify interactions of organics with microplastics by using diffusive gradients in thin-films, aiding the world’s understanding of microplastics’ adsorption/desorption behavior in the aquatic environment. Read more: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969723022209

Can China Lead Global AI Governance? – Jinghan Zeng

China has signalled strong interest in shaping, if not making, the nascent global AI order. With the open ambition of becoming a global AI superpower by 2030, China is envisioning its leadership role in shaping the future of AI. Jinghan Zeng, in collaboration with Jing Cheng of Xidian University, published a research brief for Mapping Global China, arguing that China’s search for AI leadership is driven by not only domestic regulatory needs but also the desire to gain norm and agenda setting power. The current global governance architecture, however, has made it difficult for China to realize its global AI leadership.

Read more at: https://mapglobalchina.com/research_briefs/can-china-lead-global-ai-governance/

Jinxed by Incantation? Contemporary Chinese Netizens’ Reactions to a Horror Film – Aiqing Wang

Incantation is adulated as one of the scariest Taiwanese films and has attained prodigious commercial success. Nonetheless, in mainland China, Incantation is regarded as more of a contentious film than a fearsome one: audiences’ prevalent feedback is that they feel jinxed and offended, as indicated by their complaints on social media platforms as well as reviewing and question-and-answer websites. The primary reason lies in that the film’s heroine breaks the fourth wall and addresses audiences directly, which is further intensified by the film’s mockumentary shooting style and found-footage technique. Aiqing Wang explores the rationale behind Chinese audiences’ negative and emotional comments on Incantation from a viewer’s perspective, by means of investigating their self-initiated comments and user-generated responses in China’s cyberspace, focusing on feedback posted on Weibo, Douban and Zhihu. Read more: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jcfs-2022-0036/html

Third Interdisciplinary Conference on the Belt and Road

The Lancaster University Confucius Institute's Third Interdisciplinary Conference on the Belt and Road is scheduled for 24-26 May at Lancaster University. The keynote speech is "The Belt and Road Initiative at 10: A Keyword Approach to A Moving Space of Global Connectivity", delivered by Hong Liu (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore). The panel topics are: Finance and Investment, US-China Relations and BRI, Diplomacy and Policy, International relations and BRI, BRI and Development. For more information, please contact ci@lancaster.ac.uk

Summer Research Internships

There is an exciting opportunity for Lancaster University postgraduates to work with us as on the LU China Research Map, a comprehensive showcase of Lancaster’s research on, in and with China. The successful applicant will liaise with the PURE Team and the web team to compile a comprehensive public-facing showcase of Lancaster’s China-related research.

There are also summer internships for UK students to work with Dr Andrew Chubb on projects about Asia’s maritime disputes and China’s international image. Both are data-focused projects suited to students enthusiastic about political science and/or empirical data on world affairs.

Outreach & Engagement

LUCC Doctoral Fellows in Rome

Three LUCC Doctoral Fellows presented their work at the third International Doctoral Symposium on Asian and African Studies in Rome on March 3. Yannan Li outlined his work on PRC ethnic policies, Francesca Ceccato spoke about Chinese feminists’ transnational organising, and Xue Bai presented findings from her survey research on political consumption in China.

The workshop was jointly organized by Sapienza University and Ca' Foscari University, who generously provided travel grants as well as expert tutorial sessions for the three LUCC scholars.

Derek Hird Joins Joint Universities China Committee in London

LUCC’s Research and Education Lead Derek Hird this year joined the Universities China Committee in London. The UCCL is an educational grant-giving charitable trust that provides for "two way flow of academic exchange between China and the UK", and "the encouragement of China-focused studies in the UK". The UCCL administers awards for British-based scholars working on, or studying, relevant subjects at UK universities who wish to undertake visits to China for specific research or lecture reasons, and for Chinese scholars who seek to make research visits to the UK. Dr. Hird is also Head of Department of Languages and Cultures (DeLC) at Lancaster University.

Jinghan Zeng Podcasts on Artificial Intelligence and the COVID-19 Lab Leak Theory

Jinghan Zeng appeared on The i Podcast on March 15, discussing COVID lab leak theories, and on Lancaster’s own What is the Future of Education podcast on January 25, discussing artificial intelligence and internationalisation.

Najla Al Zarooni at Dipam, Turkey’s Center for Diplomatic Affairs

Doctoral Fellow Najla Al Zarooni presented a paper on China's Global Maritime Security Expansion: Between its Grand Dream and International Limitations at Turkey’s Center for Diplomatic Affairs and Political Studies (Dipam) on 26 March.

https://twitter.com/n_zarouni/status/1640576400036970496

Andrew Chubb testifies to US-China Economic and Security Review Commission

Andrew Chubb testified before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission on March 23. Despite high-profile responses to foreign interference among some "Five Eyes" countries, Chubb argued that many kinds of encroachment on residents' civil liberties remain unaddressed, and cautioned against approaching the PRC's authoritarian influence as a singular national security threat. The written submission and video of the testimony can be viewed here: https://www.uscc.gov/hearings/chinas-global-influence-and-interference-activities

Culture & Community

The annual North West Confucius Institutes Dragon Boat Race is set to take place on Saturday 20th May, hosted by Edge Hill Confucius Institute. Witness a fantastic spectacle, cheer on the Lancaster team, and commemorate China's great paragon of loyal dissent, Qu Yuan, at Liverpool Docks on May 20th. For more information please contact ci@lancaster.ac.uk


Dragon Boat Race

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