Chinese Politics Mini-Conference: New Frontiers and Perspectives on Chinese Politics

Session Submission Type: Created Panel

Part of Mini-Conference

• Chinese Politics Mini-Conference

Session Description

This panel comprises five papers that introduce fresh perspectives, draw upon novel datasets, and delve into relatively unexplored areas within the field of Chinese politics. These papers collectively expand the boundaries of our understanding about China.
Junyan Jiang and Songpo Yang challenge the conventional rationalist perspective on political selection in China, employing a unique dataset comprising 18,879 photos of 5,124 Chinese officials and an innovative machine-learning algorithm to assess how officials' facial features influence their career progression and political survival. Chengli Wang and Guo Li delve into the intersection of authoritarian politics and popular culture, using a novel dataset of over 3,500 Chinese celebrities. The study examines how authoritarian regimes, such as China, strategically select and endorse celebrities who align with state preferences. Xiaoxia Huang’s research highlights how structural and political barriers limit women’s representation in public office. Using an original dataset containing extensive data from 238,151 job ads in the Chinese National Civil Service Examination (NCSE) spanning bureaucratic and party positions, the research reveals a consistent and increasing bias towards male candidates by the Chinese government between 2005 and 2024. Yannong He investigates China’s race for global talent and why some local governments excel in attracting talent while others lag behind, drawing upon extensive interviews and archival research. Lastly, the paper by Handi Li, Shengqiao Lin, and Minh Duc Trinh examines the issue of data manipulation in authoritarian contexts, highlighting strategies employed by the Chinese government, including public shaming and centralization of power, to tackle the problem of data overreporting.

Sub Unit

• Division 13: Politics of Communist and Former Communist Countries

Individual Presentations

• Physiognomic Features and the Tacit Domain of Political Selection in China - Junyan Jiang, Columbia University; Songpo Yang, Tsinghua University

• Unveiling the Celebrities in Chinese Authoritarian Politics - Chengli Wang, University of Macau; Guo LI

• Gendered Recruitment and Implications in China’s Public Sector - Xiaoxia Huang, Syracuse University

• The Local Politics of Talent Attraction in China - Yannong He

• Countering Local Data Manipulation in China - Handi Li, University College London; Shengqiao Lin, Harvard University; Minh Duc Trinh, Purdue University

Chair

• Lizhi Liu Georgetown University

Discussants

• Xu Xu Princeton University

• Blake Miller London School of Economics and Political Science