Ben Mulvey

This 2024 post from the DAB’s Peggy Wong is quickly becoming infamous.

In it, the pro-Beijing district councillor dismisses fire safety concerns about the Wang Fuk work as malicious rumours misleading the public, and accuses the Democratic Party of “provocatively live-streaming “ from the scene.

Good to see my paper is getting some ”traction” on 小红书🤣

self -reflection on this kind of privilege. there's an unspoken set of rules: e.g. a register of speech, performance of politics, a fixed idea of what counts as “intellectual”. There's this subtle dismissiveness or exclusion when you don't follow them, and I'm sure it must impact careers.

not surprising, but this is so obvious in academia. a lot of the people i work with have had such privileged upbringings, its surprisingly common that you'll speak to someone whose parents were also academics or otherwise incredibly middle-class etc., but you rarely hear any kind of critical

The Imperial Gaze: Affective Governance, Hybrid Cartography, and China’s U-Shaped Line This article develops ‘the imperial gaze’ concept to explore how maps not only represent the world, but also do things in geopolitics, even provoking mass demonstrations. It examines China’s early-...

Hey all, my article "The Imperial Gaze: Affective Governance, Hybrid Cartography, and China’s U-Shaped Line" is published in _Geopolitics_ today: it's OA, so please click and download, for free!
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Forthcoming in Spring 2026:

@rachelbrooks.bsky.social
@brisunipress.bsky.social
@uclgeography.bsky.social

#internationalstudentmobilities

Drawing on a decade of evidence, the paper shows how Chinese universities have become sites of securitisation, where political loyalty and ideological conformity are treated as security issues. As a result, students and staff are increasingly framed as internal threats to 'regime security' (2/2)

Securitising the university: lessons from China in the Xi Jinping era This paper explores the extent to which Chinese higher education has become a national security concern under General Secretary Xi Jinping’s leadership. To do so, it draws on ‘second-wave’ securiti...

Pleased to share a new paper: “Securitising the University: Lessons from China in the Xi Jinping Era.”

I argue that securitisation theory is a valuable tool for higher education and science studies. (1/2)

🔗 tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17508487.2025.2547596

一所大学如何「改造」它的文科 “请证明你的思想有用”

this sociology lecturer's account of how the "crisis" of social subjects (文科) in Chinese higher edu is changing the way of teaching evaluation is absolutely chilling. have you heard of AI monitoring "head-raise rate" - how often students will look up during a lecture
mp.weixin.qq.com/s/98wVbe8hc0...

Interviewer: There are aid trucks, UN aid trucks that are unable to enter Gaza, and not allowed to distribute aid while people are starving. But [private security contractor] SRS was able to bring in Domino's Pizza to one of their sites?

Whistleblower: Correct.

Thanks Chenchen 😄

The essentialisation of China in ‘Critical internationalisation studies’: a new orientalism? This paper provides a critical perspective on existing academic literature on the internationalisation of higher education in China. The central argument is that much of this work undermines its ow...

Full article: The essentialisation of China in ‘Critical internationalisation studies’: a new orientalism? www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
great new article by @benmulvey.bsky.social

Rather beautifully, Professor Mahmood Mamdani's dedication in "Neither Settler Nor Native" is to his trail-blazing son, @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social.

He quotes the revolutionary Chinese writer Lu Xun's famous concluding lines in "Hometown":

「其實地上本沒有路，走的人多了，也便成了路。」

-魯迅，故鄉
#everynightapoem

China’s Quiet Win: Outmaneuvering U.S. for Africa’s Future Leaders

Recently was interviewed about my research on China–Africa student mobility by the author of this @nytimes piece on African students in China. Though I think I might have framed it differently, it's a really interesting piece!

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/07/w....

Getting Back on Track: Student Migration From India to Germany as a Route to Desirable Employment - Sazana Jayadeva, 2025 This article examines the rising postgraduate-level student migration of Indian engineers to Germany, drawing on interviews with 42 Indians who were applying to...

Happy to share a new article, just published open access in @socresonline.bsky.social: 'Getting Back on Track: Student Migration From India to Germany as a Route to Desirable Employment'.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

State Media Reminds Workers that Labor Rights Are "Granted" by the Party A series of state-media reports on the theme of the May 1 International Workers Day provide a window into the CCP’s perception of labor rights in China. This week, China Daily published a series of qu...

chinadigitaltimes.net/2025/05/stat...

Foundations Why Britain has stagnated

Worth a read: ukfoundations.co

YouTube video by 不明白播客 EP-147 夏巢川：白纸一代如何重建公民社会？白纸运动 | 中国民主 | 海外离散 | 润 | 上海万圣节 | Rei Xia | 维吾尔人 | 西藏 | 乌鲁木齐中路 | 人权 |

夏巢川因白纸运动被两度拘留，最终于2024年初离开中国，流亡荷兰。在本期节目中，夏巢川讲述了发起白纸纪念集会，参与海外公民社群，持续行动的故事。TA也回应了对白纸一代乃至中国社会运动的一些疑问：实名还是匿名？“抱团取暖”还是打破同温层？点击收听本期播客： youtu.be/gcWO76-6Ac8 @liyuan6.bsky.social

Looks fantastic

Very successful panel at #AAS2025 with a nice bunch of people: Mengwei Tu, Daniel Nehring, and Miaoyan Yang.

Hostile Weibo Reactions to Filmmaker Huo Meng’s Berlin Film Fest Win: “Chinese Cinema Has Never Been As Conflicted As It Is Today” While Weibo and other Chinese social media platforms continue to generate congratulatory content about the animated box-office smash “Ne Zha 2,” the reception for "Living the Land," a moving and reali...

Hostile Weibo Reactions to Filmmaker Huo Meng’s Berlin Film Fest Win: “Chinese Cinema Has Never Been As Conflicted As It Is Today”

"Chinese films are facing strong interference from the forces of cultural conservatism. But actually, people like that never set foot in theaters."

3月16日，袁莉将于阿姆斯特丹举行听众见面会，与张洁平、Ian Johnson一同分享“川普新政下的欧洲、中国与公民社会”，见面会现场有听众问答环节。
这是不明白播客第一次在欧洲举行线下活动，我们希望提供一个平台让中国人参与到开放社会的公开活动当中，期待在阿姆斯特丹见到你们，一起共建我们想要的中文社群！

此次见面会免费入场，请有意参加的听众朋友们踊跃填写报名表，也欢迎提交你希望与袁莉及嘉宾们讨论或回答的问题。 我们阿姆斯特丹见！点击报名： forms.gle/7j7yxg2buAx3...

If you're in Glasgow, please feel free to join us for this guest seminar with @jlmittelmeier.bsky.social on the 28th.

www.gla.ac.uk/schools/educ...

International Journal of Educational Research

The Ripple Effect: Understanding the Societal Implications of International Student Mobility

Edited by Dr Joonghyun Kwak and Dr Maia Chankseliani, this special issue looks at how international student mobility shapes societies.

Read the issue: www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

YouTube video by 不明白播客 EP-131 从商场销售到“极端宗教分子”，我带上儿子走线 | 中共 | 穆斯林 | 新疆 | 警察 | 伊斯兰教 | 古兰经 | 极权 | 再教育营 | 仇恨教育 | 小粉红 | 翻墙 |

本期不明白播客讲述一位穆斯林单亲妈妈在经历“铁拳”之后被迫走线的故事。因为教导孩子不要仇视外国人，燕被学校举报，最终被认定为激进宗教狂热分子，她和儿子的命运就此改变。在燕的故事里，大家也许会发现，燕所经历的基层警察的野蛮残暴，校长与老师的助纣为虐，离我们并不遥远。点击收听《EP-131 从商场销售到“极端宗教分子”，我带上儿子走线》: youtu.be/tcjJ46P9hxw
@liyuan6.bsky.social

🌍 GLACIER Seminar Series 2025 🌍
Difficult decisions in comparative & international educational research: Practices, dilemmas, & strategies

📅 Weds, 15:30–16:30
📍 St. Andrew's Bld., Rm 234
📢 In-person (sorry virtual friends!)
🔗 Details: tinyurl.com/4z48b6pw
#GLACIERSeminars2025 #GlasgowIntCompEd