Programs
We are pleased to welcome the inaugural cohort of our Early-Career Researchers Program at Scholars' House. Over the following months, they will pursue research, engage with our community, and contribute to a series of seminars and public conversations.
Meet Our First Visiting Scholars
Guoer Liu
Guoer Liu is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California San Diego. She is affiliated with UCSD's 21st Century China Center and the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science and Scientific Computing from the University of Michigan in 2024. Her research sits at the intersection of political institutions, technology, and environmental politics, with a primary empirical focus on China. Her book project asks why governments turn to automation when it constrains the very discretion that makes political power useful. She also conducts research in political methodology, with a focus on causal inference and survey experiments.
Jay Kao
Jay C. Kao is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Loyola University Chicago. He studies how people form and update their political opinions, and how governments and the media seek to shape them, with a particular focus on Greater China. Much of his research asks how ordinary citizens respond to state-sponsored messaging—when it persuades, when it backfires, and why—drawing on observational and experimental data to make causal inferences. His work has appeared in the American Political Science Review and other leading journals. His current projects examine how state-aligned and pro-Beijing media influence voters in democracies.
John Minnich
John Minnich is an Assistant Professor of International Political Economy at the London School of Economics. His research focuses on technology and industrial policies in China and U.S.-China technology competition. He is currently working on a book about China's efforts to accelerate its economic rise through foreign technology transfers. Other research on this and related topics is published or forthcoming in the Journal of Politics, International Security, and International Studies Quarterly. Prior to joining LSE, John held fellowships at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. He received his PhD from MIT in 2023.
Ming Li
Ming Li is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her research interests cover topics of the Chinese economy, political economy, and urban economics. Her current research focuses on industrial policy, internal migration and trade, and the political economy of firm dynamics in China. She received the Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Peking University and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Shengqiao Lin
Shengqiao Lin is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. His research centers on political economy and state–business relations, with a regional focus on China. He examines how firms and individuals respond to government interventions—such as regulation, industrial policy, and economic sanctions—and how these interactions shape governance outcomes. His work has appeared in leading journals, including Journal of Politics, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Peace Research, and Journal of Contemporary China, among others. His research received the 2023 APSA Best Conference Paper Award and has been featured in outlets such as The Economist, The Diplomat, and Initium Media. Before joining the University of Toronto, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies and the Reimagining the Economy Project at the Center for International Development.
Sichen Li
Sichen Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations at LSE. From 2024 to 2025, She was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University. She earned her PhD in Political Science from UC San Diego in 2024. Her research examines the challenges that geopolitics poses to globalization. Specifically, she studies how technological rivalry between major economies reshapes the role of governments in trade and investment policymaking, transforming them from advocates of economic openness into active drivers of anti-globalisation policies. She is also interested in how firms respond to political tensions by adjusting their investment strategies, as well as how the public in the US and China reacts to great power competition.
About the Program
Established in 2026, Scholars’ House is a hub for China Studies based in Tokyo. The institution is founded to address a widening gap in the field: at a time when understanding China and its global impact is more critical than ever, in-depth scholarly research faces increasing structural and geopolitical challenges. It aims to promote scholarly exchange and foster research on China and its relations with the world, by providing an open, resilient ecosystem in which scholars can thrive, collaborate, and make enduring contributions.
Beginning in 2026, the Scholars’ House offers residential fellowships for Early Career Researchers concerning contemporary China across social science disciplines. The residential fellowship program seeks outstanding candidates and is looking for truly extraordinary scholars.
Eligibility
The Early-Career Researchers program welcomes postdoctoral researchers, and scholars within five years of PhD completion. It is open to candidates of all nationalities conducting social science research on contemporary China. Eligible fields include, but are not limited to, economics, political science, sociology, anthropology, media studies, urban studies, human geography, law, and related interdisciplinary studies.
Benefits
Selected fellows receive full sponsorship, including accommodation in central Tokyo, round-trip airfare, visa fees, health insurance, and a daily stipend of ¥7,000.
Expectations
Fellows are expected to contribute to the program’s intellectual vitality by leading seminars, delivering public lectures, and engaging with local academic discourse.
Length of Stay
Fellowships range from a few weeks to four months, beginning in June 2026.
Selection
Early-Career Visiting Scholars applicants need to be nominated; upon receipt of a nomination, we will contact the candidate to complete an application process. Nominations received after the stated deadline may still be considered and will be reviewed on a rolling basis following the April announcement round, subject to availability.
Academic Committee
David Y. Yang (Harvard University; chair), Takeo Hoshi (University of Tokyo), Yingyi Qian (Tsinghua University), Susan Shirk (University of California at San Diego).