I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at Emory University. I am also Princeton Dissertation Scholar at the Mamdouha S. Bobst Center for Peace and Justice, Emerging Scholar at the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, and EPOVB Early-Career Fellow at APSA’s Elections, Public Opinion, and Voting Behavior Section.

I study how political communication, elite strategy, and psychology shape (1) the dynamics of conflict escalation and (2) public opinion on international cooperation and democracy, with a focus on East Asia, the United States, and their interactions. Situated in the global context of rising misinformation on social media, my research unpacks how authoritarian actors use political rhetoric and media control to distort public opinion and manipulate mass beliefs, with implications for political violence and authoritarian resilience. I also examine how great power competition between China and the United States constrains public support for international cooperation and under what conditions such constraints can be tamped down, shedding light on the interplay between domestic politics and international relations through the lens of political psychology. Concerned about the Taiwan Strait crisis and its implications for regional and international security, my ongoing projects combine behavioral frameworks with modern social science techniques to study deterrence.

I hold an MPhil in Economic Research from the University of Cambridge, where I was Hughes Hall Scholar and Hong Kong Scholar. I also hold a BEcon in Economics, Politics, and Public Administration from the University of Hong Kong, where I was John Swire Scholar, Undergraduate Research Fellow, and a first-generation-to-college student.

Growing up in Hong Kong’s public housing shaped how I think about social inequality, social justice, and social policy. It also drew me closer to the masses, whose formation of political attitudes is the crux of my research agenda.

My research has been published or is forthcoming in Comparative Political Studies, European Union Politics, Foreign Policy Analysis, International Organization, Political Behavior, Political Science Research and Methods, and The Journal of Politics.