Alison Sile Chen-Zhao

• Chen-Zhao, Alison Sile. 2026. “Digital Panopticon: Built on Cheap Surveillance.”↗ (job market paper)
• Chen-Zhao, Alison Sile, and Branislav L. Slantchev. 2026. "From Tiananmen to Panopticon: International Human Rights Campaigns and the Stabilization of Authoritarian Rule."↗ (under review)

• Book
  • Digital Panopticon: How Mass Surveillance Changes Autocracies.
• Paper
  • "Testing the Rule of Law: Authoritarian Institutional Shock in Hong Kong" (with Patrick Chester and Ryan Leung).
  • "Invalid Signaling in International Human Rights Treaties" (with Branislav L. Slantchev).
  • "Great Power Rivalry: Building an Alternative Global Order" (with David Lake).
• Dataset
  • "Repression in China 2013-2023" (with Margaret E. Roberts).

Coming soon...

Ph.D. Candidate. Political Science. University of California, San Diego.

• Fields: Comparative Politics, International Relations, Methodology
• Committee Members: Margaret E. Roberts (Co-Chair), Branislav Slantchev (Co-Chair), Simeon Nichter, Songzi Du
• Computational Social Science Specialization

Master of Arts. Political Science. University of California, San Diego.

Master of Science. Foreign Service. Georgetown University.

• Major in Global Politics and Security
• Asian Studies Certificate

Bachelor of Economics. Engineering and Management. Nanjing University (China).

• Doctoral Fellowship. Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation (Taiwan).
• Rita L. Atkinson Graduate Fellowship. University of California, San Diego.

• Ichimore Student Research Award. The 21st Century China Center, University of California, San Diego.

• Frieda Daum Urey Fellowship. University of California, San Diego.

• Chandler Fellowship. Political Science, University of California, San Diego.

• Graduate Student Fellowship. The 21st Century China Center, University of California, San Diego.

• Kellen Scholarship. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.
• Edward Weintal Scholarship. The Weintal Fund, and the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.
• Ten Best Chinese Books in the Year (Nonfiction) [中文十大好書（非虛構）], for 她們的征途: 中國女性的公民覺醒之路 [Her Battles: The Awakening of Chinese Female Activists]↗. Asian Weekly [亞洲週刊].
• Lin Zhao Memorial Award [林昭紀念獎]. Independent Chinese PEN Center [獨立中文筆會].
• The Renaissance Award for the Best Nonfiction of the Year [文藝復興最佳非虛構獎], for 她們的征途: 中國女性的公民覺醒之路 [Her Battles: The Awakening of Chinese Female Activists]↗. The Hong Kong Renaissance Foundation.
• Excellence in Reporting on Women’s Issues Award [卓越女性報導大獎], for “Ai Xiaoming: Embattled Beast Still Fights” [艾曉明：困獸猶鬥]↗. The Society of Publishers in Asia [亞洲出版協會].

• Excellence in Reporting on Women’s Issues Award [卓越女性報導大獎], for “709 Family Members: The Year-Long Journey from Victims to Activists” [709 家屬：從受難者到行動者的一年跋涉]↗. The Society of Publishers in Asia.
• Human Rights Press Awards, Merit Chinese Features [人權新聞獎, 優秀中文特稿獎], for “709 Family Members: The Year-Long Journey from Victims to Activists” [709 家屬：從受難者到行動者的一年跋涉]↗. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Journalists Association, and Amnesty International Hong Kong.
• Human Rights Press Awards, Merit Chinese Commentary [人權新聞獎, 優秀中文評論獎], for “Reporting on Activism [報導抗爭系列評論]”↗. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Journalists Association, and Amnesty International Hong Kong.

• Human Rights Press Awards, the Grand Prize for Chinese News and Features [人權新聞獎, 中文新聞與特稿大獎], for “The Fate of Chinese Rights NGOs” [覆巢: 中國權利 NGO 生死劫]↗. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Journalists Association, and Amnesty International Hong Kong.
• Human Rights Press Awards, Merit Chinese Features [人權新聞獎, 優秀中文特稿獎], for “Kou Yanding: 128 Days of Hell and 100 Kilometers of Salvation.” [寇延丁： 128 天的地狱， 100 公里的救赎]↗. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Journalists Association, and Amnesty International Hong Kong.

• Human Rights Press Awards, the Grand Prize for Online News [人權新聞獎, 網絡新聞大獎], for news series on “Wukan’s Democratic Elections” [烏坎選舉系列] (with Annie Zhang)↗. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Journalists Association, and Amnesty International Hong Kong.  

• The People's Scholarship for Academic Excellence, First Tier. Nanjing University.

• The People's Scholarship for Societal Service, First Tier. Nanjing University.

• APSA. “Digital Panopticon: Built on Cheap Surveillance.” Boston.
• SPSA. "Testing the Rule of Law: Authoritarian Institutional Shock in Hong Kong." New Orleans.

• Dean's Leadership Council Meeting. "Surveillance in China." Social Science, University of California, San Diego.
• AAS. "Counting Repression: Using LLM to Identify Repressive Events in the Xi Era." Columbus.
• SPSA. "From Tiananmen Crackdown to Surveillance Panopticon: International Human Rights Campaigns and the Stabilization of Authoritarian Rule." San Juan.

• Comparative Formal Theory Conference. "From Tiananmen Crackdown to Surveillance Panopticon: International Human Rights Campaigns and the Stabilization of Authoritarian Rule." Political Science, The London School of Economics and Political Science.
• WPSA. "Arrested with Surveillance: Preemptive Repression under International Pressure." Vancouver.

• Joint Workshop of Applied/International/Development Economics. "Arrested with Surveillance: Preemptive Repression under International Pressure." University of California, San Diego, Economics Department.
• Formal Models of Conflict Conference. "Arrested by Surveillance: Preemptive Repression under International Pressure." Political Science, University of Pittsburgh.
• APSA. "Arrested by Surveillance: Preemptive Repression under International Pressure." Los Angeles.
• APSA - Formal Theory Junior Scholar Symposia. "When Good Intention Goes Wrong: Autocratic Surveillance and Repression under International Pressure." Virtual.
• MPSA. "When Good Intention Goes Wrong: Autocratic Surveillance and Repression under International Pressure." Chicago.

• AAS. "Coordinating Violence in a Decentralized Movement: Evidence from the 2019 Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Protests." Hawaii.

• APSA. "Coordinating Violence in a Decentralized Movement: Evidence from the 2019 Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Protests." Seattle/virtual.

• APSA. "Game in the Gray Zone: Reciprocating Strategy in Maritime Disputes with China." iPoster, Virtual.

• Young Transatlantic Network of Future Leaders. "Examining Pro-Democracy Protests: Hong Kong and the Boundaries of Transatlantic Support." The German Marshall Fund.
• "Current Situation and Development of Chinese Youth Activists." Dialogue China.
• Asia in Depth Series Lectures. "Activism in China: Changes in Political Space since 1989." History Department and Asian Studies Program, Georgetown University.

• Expert Talk. "China’s Post-1989 Generation of Activists." International Labor Rights Forum.
• Asia in Depth Series Lectures. "Activism in China: Changes in Political Space since 1989." History Department and Asian Studies Program, Georgetown University.

• National Security Strategy.
  • Prof. Branislav Slantchev. Winter 2026.
  • Prof. Branislav Slantchev. Fall 2022.
• Supreme Court and Constitution.
  • Prof. Glenn Smith. Fall 2025.
• Introduction to Comparative Politics.
  • Prof. Scott Desposato. Winter 2025.
• European Integration. 
  • Prof. David Fisk. Fall 2024.
• Game Theory in Political Science. 
  • Prof. Sean Ingham. Summer 2024. 
  • Prof. David Wiens. Winter 2023.
• Economic Theories in Political Behavior. 
  • Prof. David Wiens. Summer 2024.
  • Prof. David Wiens. Summer 2023.
• Corruption in Developing Countries. 
  • Prof. Simeon Nichter. Fall 2023.
• Text as Data. 
  • Prof. Davi Cordeiro Moreira. Spring 2023.
  • Prof. Margaret Roberts. Spring 2022.
• Comparative Politics: Race and Ethnicity. 
  • Prof. Karen Ferree. Winter 2022.

China Law Fellow. Georgetown Center for Asian Law. Georgetown Law School.

Studied Chinese political cases and the Hong Kong National Security Law

Book author, journalist, and columnist. Freelance (based in Mainland China). Initium [端傳媒] (Hong Kong), The Reporter [報導者] (Taiwan), Foreign Policy (US).

Reported on and analyzed Chinese repression and politics

Editor. Media Monitor for Women Network (Beijing, China).

Journalist. iSun Affairs Magazine [陽光時務] (Hong Kong).

Scholars and Professionals: Prof. Branislav Slantchev, Prof. Margaret Roberts, Prof. Susan Shirk, Prof. Oriana Skylar Mastro, Edward Wong (NYT journalist). Institutes: Political Science Department (UCSD), School of Global Policy and Strategy (UCSD), Security Studies Program (Georgetown), Woodrow Wilson Center.

On formal models, text analysis, web scraping, Chinese current events, Chinese media, Chinese military, Chinese foreign policy, Chinese archives

• American Journal of Political Science
• Japanese Journal of Political Science
• Asian Perspective

On generative AI, China politics, social media, opposition movement, and formal modeling

• Reporters Without Borders
• National Democratic Institute
• International Republican Institute
• Judicial Reform Foundation (Taiwan)
• Equity and Justice Initiative (China)
• The Kanpei Center for Youth Development and Service (China)

On Chinese politics, Chinese civil society, Chinese media

Spokesperson. Circle 19: For the Right to Information in China↗.

Associate Editor. Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs. Asian Studies Program, Georgetown University.

Note: Due to political risk considerations at various moments, some of my public writings were published under pen names, including Sile Zhao and Lydia Wong.

• Wong, Lydia, Thomas Kellogg, and Eric Lai. 2021. “Hong Kong’s National Security Law and the Right to Fair Trial: A GCAL Briefing Paper”↗. Georgetown Center for Asian Law.
• Wong, Lydia, and Thomas Kellogg. 2021. “Hong Kong’s National Security Law: A Human Rights and Rule of Law Analysis”↗. Georgetown Center for Asian Law.

• Chen, Alison Sile. 2022. “Nevertheless, Chinese Civil Society Persisted”↗. China File.
• Zhao, Sile. 2021. “社畜和躺平之間：中國民間的倔強生命 [Between ‘Social Livestock’ and ‘Lying Flat’: The Obstinacy of Chinese Civil Society]”↗. The Reporter (Taiwan).
• Wong, Lydia, Eric Yan-ho Lai, Charlotte Yeung, and Thomas Kellogg. 2020. “Tracking the Impact of Hong Kong’s National Security Law”↗. China File.
• Chen, Sile. 2019. “Interacting with the State: The Success and Vulnerability of the Feminist Movement in China”↗. Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs.

• Zhao, Sile. 2022. “裴洛西訪台：明修三棧道，暗渡三陳倉 [Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit: A Public Show and a Hidden Agenda]”↗. Seh Seh (Taiwan).
• Wong, Lydia, Eric Lai, and Thomas Kellogg. 2021. “打造三位一體的巨獸：香港國安法制的演化與擴張 [Creating a Three-in-One Beast: The Evolution and Expansion of Hong Kong’s National Security Legal System]”↗. The Reporter (Taiwan). 
• Zhao, Sile. 2020. “拜登當選以後: 對華政策的慢啟動, 將為港台中抗爭者帶來挑戰 [Biden’s Likely Slow Launch of China Policies Would Pose Challenges to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China Activists]”↗. Up Media (Taiwan).
• Kellogg, Thomas, and Alison Sile Chen. 2020. “Is Hong Kong about to Get Its Own Foreign NGO Law in the Name of ‘National Security’?”↗. China File.
• Zhao, Sile. 2020. “解讀香港國安法: 本地東廠政府 大案中央直轄 國際干預防火牆 [Interpretation of the Hong Kong National Security Law]”↗. The Foundation for Excellent Journalism Award Website (Taiwan).
•  Zhao, Sile. 2020. “武漢上空的黑洞—‘攫取型’體制的必然之惡 [The Black Hole above Wuhan—the Inevitable Evil of an Extractive System]"↗. Up Media (Taiwan).
• Zhao, Sile. 2020. “美國左翼候選人外交政策夠看嗎 [Are the Foreign Policies of the Left-wing Candidates Enough to Win the U.S. Election?].” Apple Daily (Taiwan).
• Kellogg, Thomas, and Sile Zhao. 2019. “China’s Dissidents Can’t Leave”↗. Foreign Policy.
• Chen, Sile. 2019. “A New Level of Aggressiveness: Recent Changes in Xi Jinping’s Formulation of Taiwan Policy”↗. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs.
• Zhao, Sile. 2019. “美國外交政策中的‘簡約主義’ [The Parsimony in U.S. Foreign Policies].” Apple Daily (Taiwan).
• Zhao, Sile. 2019. “非美國人眼中, 世界瓦解的樣子 [How the World Falls Apart in the Eyes of Non-Americans].” Apple Daily (Taiwan). 
• Zhao, Sile. 2019. “#MeToo in China: Female Journalists Confront Sexual Harassment”↗. Women’s Media Center.
• Chen, Alison. 2019. “Post-Protests, The Dilemma Remains Unsolved in Hong Kong”↗. Wilson Center.
• Zhao, Sile. 2019. “如果六四在香港, 美國怎麼選? [If the Tiananmen Massacre Occurs in Hong Kong, What Would the US Do?].” Apple Daily (Taiwan).
• Zhao, Sile. 2019. “讓美國政治精英‘挑眉’的台灣問題 [The ‘Eyebrow-raising’ Taiwan Issue among US Political Elites].” Apple Daily (Taiwan).
• Zhao, Sile. 2019. “卖淫嫖娼收容教育制度拟废除, 人权进步抑或社会管制转型? [Abolition of “Education Custody” against Prostitution]”↗. Amnesty International East Asian Office Website.

• Cheng, Nathanael. 2021. “Zhao Sile and Her Battles”↗. New Bloom Magazine (Taiwan).
• Featured News. 2020. “MSFS Legacy for the Future: Alison Chen (MSFS ’20)”↗. MSFS Blog.
• Smith, Charlie. 2019. “Author Alison Zhao Talks about Feminism in Her Native China, Hong Kong Protests, and How Taiwan Shaped Her Destiny”↗. The Georgia Straight (Canada). 
• Tang, Qiwei. 2019. “赵思乐（上）：中国年轻人大都处于‘社畜’状态 [Zhao Sile (1): Most Young Chinese in Struggles of Being ‘Corporate Slave’]”↗. Viewpoints, Radio Free Asia.
• Tang, Qiwei. 2019. “赵思乐（下）：我不能去剥墙皮 [Zhao Sile (2): I Cannot Continue to Peel off Wall Plastering]”↗. Viewpoints, Radio Free Asia.

• Wang, Vivian. 2025. “China's Security State Sells an A.I. Dream”↗. The New York Times.
• Chen, Alicia. 2025. “China Is Already Silencing Dissent in Taiwan”↗. The Boston Globe.
• Xie, Yixuan. 2024. “官方壓制民間不支持中國第四權持續減弱 [Official Suppression Meets Public Resistance as China’s Fourth Estate Continues to Decline]”↗. Central News Agency (Taiwan).
• Bloomberg News. 2022. “‘You Cannot Say It Out Loud’: How Xi Changed China Over a Decade”↗. Bloomberg.