Hong Kong Diaspora Studies Initiative (HKDSI)
流散港人研究計劃
Research Team
Dr. Maggie Shum is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College. She serves as the deputy co-ordinator of GRAPH (Global Research Association of Politics in Hong Kong). Her research interests include diasporas studies, transnational contentious politics, public opinion, social movement, and participatory institutions. Her academic works have been published in Democratization, Journal of Asian and African Studies, and Japanese Journal of Political Science, and her policy writings on Hong Kong can be found in Good Authority, Mischiefs of Faction, and the Diplomat. In addition, she pens the Freedom of the World report on Hong Kong, and serves as the country expert on Hong Kong in the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem).
Dr. Eddy S.F. Yeung is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Politics & International Relations and an Associate Member of Nuffield College and China Centre at the University of Oxford. In Fall 2026, he will join the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University as an Assistant Professor of Political Science. His research examines how political communication and elite strategy shape (1) democratic legitimacy under autocracy and (2) the psychology of conflict escalation and deescalation, with a focus on East Asia, the United States, and their interactions. His research has appeared in British Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, International Organization, Science, and The Journal of Politics.
Dr. Ka Ming Chan is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Comparative Politics at Newcastle University and an Associate Researcher in the Waseda Institute of Political Economy. He is currently serving on the Editorial Board of Political Psychology and is a co-convener of the UK PSA specialist group on Autocracy and Regime Change (2026-2029). His substantive research interest lies in the intersection of autocratization, radical politics, and information updating during elections. You can find his research on Hong Kong politics in Democratization, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, and Political Studies Review.
Dr. Sanho Chung is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Tainan, Taiwan. He is also the treasurer of GRAPH, a new APSA Related Group for studies of Hong Kong politics. His research interests center on electoral clientelism, local government, and democracy and autocracy, with a regional focus on East Asia. He obtained his Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Arizona in 2025. His research outputs have appeared in the Journal of Asian and African Studies, the Journal of Sport and Social Issues, China Perspectives, and the Journal of Taiwan Politics.
Athena Tong is a Visiting Researcher at the University of Tokyo, a Research Associate and Program Lead at the China Strategic Risks Institute, a Non-resident Vasey Fellow at the Pacific Forum, and one of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada's 2026 Indo-Pacific Young Leaders. She specializes in PRC political warfare, infrastructure resilience, and economic security in East Asia. Before assuming her current research roles, Athena was involved in Hong Kong's civil society and political landscape following the 2014 Umbrella Movement, focusing on international advocacy and communication strategy. Her analysis and commentary have been quoted and published by platforms such as Nikkei Asia, Reuters, Le Monde, ARD, CNBC, RTI, the Jamestown Foundation, The Wire China, The Diplomat, Oxford Analytica, and the Council on Geostrategy.
Sam Yip is an Education and Research Coordinator at the College of Law and Politics at Rikkyo University, and a Visiting Researcher at the Center for Asian Studies at Kanagawa University. His current project "The Crisis of Democracy and the Transformation of Regional Order in Asia,” examines the relationship between the deepening crisis of democracy in Asia and the ongoing transformation of the regional order, with particular attention to their combined impact on political and social stability. His research focuses on comparative politics in East Asia, particularly local politics in Hong Kong and Japan, political sociology, and civil society theory. His recent work also explores authoritarianism, exclusionism, and chauvinism in East Asia. He previously served as a member of the Hong Kong District Council.