Yao-Tai is Senior Lecturer of Sociology and Social Policy in the School of Social Sciences at UNSW. His research interests include Race and Ethnicity, Identity, Migration, Work and Labour, Contentious Politics, and Social Media. Prior to joining UNSW, Yao-Tai was an assistant professor of sociology at Hong Kong Baptist University (2017-2021). His Ph.D. dissertation examines under what circumstances and how migrants from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong draw boundaries within the pan-Chinese identity in Australia, as well as the cultural and economic meanings of co-ethnic exploitation in the Australian cash-in-hand labour market, and policy implications.
Recently, Yao-Tai has been conducting research into Hong Kong's contentious politics through various perspectives such as urban sociology, cultural politics, global networks, and data activism. His other work includes timely research related to the COVID-19 pandemic by adopting big data analytics to examine social media discourses.
My Grants
2024 Arts, Design and Architecture (ADA) Faculty Research Grant – Seed Funding Scheme
2024 School of Social Sciences Research Grant – Top Quality Publication Scheme
2023 Asia Study Grant, National Library of Australia
2023 School of Social Sciences Research Grant – Individual Research Strategy Scheme
2022 Arts, Design and Architecture (ADA) Faculty Research Grant – Seed Funding Scheme
2022 Arts, Design and Architecture (ADA) Faculty Research Grants Scheme (SPF02)
2020–21 Early Career Scheme, Research Grants Council, Hong Kong
2019–21 Initiation Grant for Faculty Niche Research Areas (FNRA-IG), HKBU
2019 Travel Grant for Starting-up Scholars from Overseas, Japan Sociological Society (JSS)
2019 Faculty Research Grant II, HKBU
2015–16 Dissertation Fellowship for ROC Students Abroad, Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange
2015 Australian Government Endeavour Research Fellowship
2014 Next Generation Sociologists Grant, ISA World Congress of Sociology
2014 International Graduate Student Travel Grant, East-West Center, Honolulu
2013 Travel Grant, The University Service Centre for China Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong
2011–13 Fulbright Graduate Study Grants
2011–14 Government Scholarship for Studying Abroad, Ministry of Education, Taiwan
My Qualifications
PhD (University of California, San Diego) MA (National Taiwan University) BA (National Taiwan University)
My Awards
2024 Dean’s Award for Outstanding Achievement as an Early Career Academic – Researcher, Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture, UNSW
2023 High commended, ADA Early Career Academic Network (Category: Best Traditional Research Output), UNSW
2021 The Sigma Awards for Data Journalism (Project: Hong Kong Lennon Wall Collection), Google News Initiative
2021 45th The Golden Tripod Awards for Publication (Digital Publishing category – Digital Content award), Ministry of Culture, Taiwan
2021 25th Human Rights Press Awards (Multimedia), The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong, Amnesty International, and the Hong Kong Journalists Association
2021 Best Presentation Award, European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) Annual Conference
2020 A. Noam Chomsky Rising Star Emerging Scholar Award, Society of Transnational Academic Researchers (STAR)
2020 Faculty Early Career Teaching Award, Hong Kong Baptist University
2017 Dissertation Writing Award, Department of Sociology, UCSD
2016 Graduate Student Paper Award, Racial and Ethnic Minorities Division, Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP)
2016 American Sociological Association Student Forum Travel Award
2016 The Lee Student Travel Fund Award, Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP)
2015 Young Scholar Award, China Times Cultural Foundation, New York
2014 Summer Research Grant Awards, Department of Sociology, UCSD
2013–14 UC California Studies Consortium (UCCSC) Award, University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI)
2013 The Dean of Social Science Research Fund Award, UCSD
My Research Activities
Ongoing Projects
Perceptions of Citizenship and Migration
The Changing Rhetoric of Racial Discrimination against Chinese Migrants in Australia after 1973 (https://www.nla.gov.au/stories/blog/exploring-experiences-chinese-migrants-australia)
The Role of Ethnic Networks to East Asian Temporary Migrants’ Integration or Exploitation in Australia
My Research Supervision
Currently supervising
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Simon Metcalfe (PhD Social Sciences) The Affective Dimensions of Border Regimes: Australia’s Violent Border Policies towards People Seeking Asylum (Primary Supervisor)
Shutong Chen (PhD Social Sciences) Transnational Queer Activism in Australia: An Analysis of the Civic Participation of Diaspora Chinese Queer Activists (Primary Supervisor)
Roxarne Moon (PhD Social Sciences) Folktales and the Sociology of Belonging (Secondary Supervisor)
Masters
Yue Wu (Master of Public Policy and Governance, MPPG) Vulnerable in Australia: A Case Study of Asian Female International Student Workers in the Service Industry (High Distinction)
Honours Supervision (B.A., Hons.)
Jacqueline Price. The Moral Dimensions of a Movement: An Analysis of Doxing during the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Protests (First Class Honours), Recipient of The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) Honours Student Award
Zainab Theyab. Navigating AI and the Changing Landscape within Higher Education
Natalia Stewart. Misogyny in the Digital Age: Viral Misogynism and its Implications for Sexual Assault Victims
My Engagement
Ad-hoc Reviewer for Journals
American Journal of Sociology, Asian Anthropology, Big Data & Society, British Journal of Sociology, Canadian Review of Sociology, China Perspectives, Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning, Common Law World Review, Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Critical Sociology, Current Psychology, Current Sociology, Development and Society, Economic and Labour Relations Review, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Europe-Asia Studies, European Journal of Social Psychology, Hong Kong Studies, Human Relations, Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, Information, Communication & Society, International Journal of Asian Studies, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Migration, International Migration Review, International Sociology, Internet Research, Journal of Contemporary Asia, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, Journal of Intercultural Studies, Journal of Labor and Society, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, Journal of Youth Studies, Journal of Urban Affairs, Mass Communication and Society, Nations and Nationalism, Nationalities Papers, New Media & Society, Patterns of Prejudice, Political Behavior, Political Psychology, Qualitative Sociology, Routledge, SAGE Open, Social Identities, Social Inclusion, Social Science Computer Review, Social Movement Studies, Social Transformations in Chinese Societies, Sociological Inquiry, Sociological Quarterly, Sociological Research Online, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, The Sociological Review, Urban Affairs Review, Urban Studies, Visual Studies, Work, Employment and Society
2025 Chair, RC 31 Sociology of Migration, Best Article Award Committee, ISA
2024 Martin Bulmer Prize Committee Member, Ethnic and Racial Studies
2024– Convenor, Master of Public Policy and Governance, UNSW
2024– Editorial Board Member, Ethnic and Racial Studies
2024–27 Board Member, RC 31 Sociology of Migration, International Sociology Association (ISA)
2023– Mentoring Program, International Migration Section, American Sociology Association (ASA)
2023–24 SOSS Representative and Treasurer, ADA Early Career Academic Network (ECAN), UNSW
2023 Grant Proposal Reviewer for National Science Centre Poland
2023 Coding for 2023 Digital Society Project (DSP) Expert Cycle
2022– International Advisory Board Member, British Journal of Sociology
2022– Research Committee Member, School of Social Sciences, UNSW
2022–24 Executive Council Member of the Australian Taiwanese Friendship Association (ATFA)
2022–23 Workshop Facilitator for Year 10 Experience Day for High School Students, UNSW
2021–24 Editorial Board Member, Work, Employment and Society
2022 Program Committee Member, International Conference on Social Media & Society (SMSociety22)
2021 Organizing Committee Member, Work, Employment and Society Conference
2021 A. Noam Chomsky Global Connections Awards Committee Member, Society of Transnational Academic Researchers
2021 Awards Judge for Networks 2021: A Joint Sunbelt and NetSci Conference
2020– Expert Roster for Peer Review of United Nations Networks on Migration
2019– Features Editor, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism
2017 Graduate Student Paper Award Committee Member, Racial and Ethnic Minorities Division, Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP)
2014– Executive Council Member of Taiwan Working Holiday Youth (T-WHY)
Visiting Positions
Mar. 2025–May 2025 Visiting Fellow, Department of Sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, England
Aug. 2015–Feb. 2016 Visiting Scholar, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Sydney, Australia
Dec. 2014–May 2015 Visiting Scholar, Cosmopolitan Civil Societies Research Centre, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Professional Association Membership
Association for Asian Studies (AAS)
American Sociological Association (ASA)
Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN)
British Sociological Association (BSA)
Hong Kong Sociological Association (HKSA)
International Sociological Association (ISA)
Society for Hong Kong Studies (SHKS)
Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP)
The Australian Sociological Association (TASA)
My Teaching
• ARTS 2870 Citizens, Action, and Dissent
• SOSS 2002 Quantitative Social Research
• SRAP 5021 Policy, Advocacy and Activism in the Digital Age
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4897-3616