“It's not even wrong.”
– Wolfgang Pauli
Research Interests
The primary focus of my research is the sociology of media. My interdisciplinary background has enabled me to investigate the information governance of the authoritarian regime in China from various perspectives. By focusing on four types of dynamics—state–media relations, media–court dynamics, media–movement dynamics, and media–public dynamics—three themes have emerged in my research.
Resilient China
First, my key interest is the evolution and transformation of the relationship between the state, the media and the courts, and their impact on the political regime. By exploring changes in journalistic behaviour and the media’s interaction with the courts, as well as investigating state control of the information environment, I have proposed a typology of state–media interaction and a typology of social justice as guiding analytical frameworks to decipher the mechanisms of “Resilient China”.
Contagious China
Second, I focus on the role of media in constructing public opinion and shaping social movements, especially student activism in mainland China and Hong Kong. Based on solid case studies from significant movements and surveys of mainland Chinese and Hong Kong students, I have developed a movements as dialogic processes framework to examine the dynamics of “Contagious China”.
Cultural China
Third, I also investigate relations between the media and various forms of cultural consumption in China, and their impact on (re)constructing state legitimacy during the transition period. Based on stories and evidence reflecting how individuals appreciate art, their musical preferences, restaurant choices and how they imagine Tibetan culture, my research in this area paints a picture of contemporary “Cultural China”.
Research Grants
General Research Fund, Project#11609219, Principal Investigator, “Throwing an Egg against a Stone? An Empirical Study of Opening Government Information Litigation in China (2008-2018)” 697,022 HKD. 01/09/2019 – 31/03/2022.
General Research Fund, Project#11608717, Principal Investigator, “Constructing social justice: The evolving media–court relation and media trials in China,” 260,264 HKD. 01/01/2018 – 30/06/2021. (On-going)
General Research Fund, Project#11672616, Principal Investigator, “The Chinese Reputation: A Community Approach on Defamation Litigation in China,” 514,000 HKD. 01/06/2017 – 31/05/2020. (On-going)
General Research Fund, Project#11406014, Principal Investigator, “The Losing Media? An Empirical Study on the Media-related Litigation,” 566,666 HKD. 01/01/2015 – 30/06/2017. (Completed)
China’s National Social Science Fund, Project#14CSH033, Co-Investigator, “Collective Actions in the Internet Era”, 200,000 RMB. 01/07/2014 – 31/12/2017. (Completed)
Publications
List of Publications in English
Books/Monographs
Lee, F., CC, Lee., M, Yao., TK, Zhang., F, Lin. and C, Shen. (2013), Communication, Public Opinion, and Globalization in Urban China (Routledge Studies in Rhetoric and Communication). London: Routledge(Involvement: co-author, analysed the data and wrote one chapter of the book)
Book review:
Journal Articles
Lin, F. and Y. Xie (2019). Moving beyond Nimbyism? Media-Movement Dynamics in Chinese NIMBY Movements. China: An International Journal, 17(2):19-38.
Lin, F. and X. Zhang. (2018). Movement-press dynamics and news diffusion: A typology of activism in digital China. The China Review. 18 (2), 33-63.
Lin, F. (2018). Moon over the eastern hill: Constructing the Han Chinese imagination of modern Tibet, The Journal of Popular Culture. 51 (3), 674-692.
Lin, F. and M, Yao. (2018). The impact of accompanying text on visual processing and hedonic evaluation of art, Empirical Studies of the Arts. 36(2), 180–198.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0276237417719637
Lin, F. (2017). “Digital intellectual property protection in China: Trends and damages in litigation involving the Big Five websites (2003–13)”. Asian Pacific Law Review. 25(2):149-169.
He, X. and F, Lin. (2017). The losing media? An empirical study of defamation litigation in China, The China Quarterly. 230: 371-298
Lin, F., and D, Zhao. (2016). Social movements as a dialogic process: Framing, interpretation schemata and the dynamics of the anti-CNN movement, Chinese Sociological Review. 48(3): 185-208
Lin, F., Y, Sun., and H, Yang. (2015). How are Chinese students ideologically divided? A survey of Chinese college students’ political self-identification, Pacific Affairs, 88(1): 51-74
Lin, F., T.K. Chang., and X. Zhang. (2015). After the spillover effect: News flows and power relations in Chinese mainstream media. Asian Journal of Communication. 25(3):235-254
Chang, T.K. and F, Lin. (2014), From propaganda to public diplomacy: Assessing China's international practice and its image, 1950-2009. Public Relations Review, 40(3), 450-458
Lin, F. (2012). Information differentiation, commercialization and legal reform – The rise of a three-dimensional state-media regime in China. Journalism Studies, 13(3), 418-432
Lin, F. (2010). A survey report on Chinese journalists in China. The China Quarterly, 202, 421-434.
Lin, F. (2010). Organizational construction or individual’s deed? The literati tradition in the journalistic professionalization in China, International Journal of Communication, 4, 1-20.
Lin, T., J. Zhang., D. Yarcia and F, Lin. (2008). Income inequality in the People's Republic of China and its decomposition: 1990–2004. Asian Development Review, 25, 119-136.(MIT Press Journals, Economics and Business)
Lin, F. (2006). Dancing beautifully but with hands cuffed? A historical review of journalism formation during media commercialization in China. Perspectives, 7(2): 79-98.
Salama, JK., R, Heimann., F, Lin., N, Mehta., SJ, Chmura., R, Singh., and J, Kao. (2005). Does the number of lymph nodes examined in node negative breast cancer have prognostic significance? Cancer, 103(4), 664-671.
Book Chapters
Lin, T., D, Yarcia., and F, Lin. (2010). Income inequality in the People's Republic of China 1990–2005. In Poverty, Inequality, and Inclusive Growth in Asia: Measurement, Policy Issues, and Country Studies (Anthem Studies in Development and Globalization). Edited by J. Zhuang. London: Anthem Press.
Research Monographs/Working Papers/Consultancy Reports
Lin, T., C, Wang., Y, Chen., T, Camacho., and F, Lin. (2009). Green Benches: What can the People’s Republic of China Learn from International Experiences of Environment Courts? Asian Development Bank.
Howard, B., P. Zhu, J. Robin, S. Raudenbush, M. Andres, & F. Lin. (2008). Empirical issues in the design of group-randomized studies to measure the effects of interventions for children. MDRC Working Papers on Research Methodology, 483.
Raudenbush, S., M, Andres., B, Howard., P, Zhu., and F, Lin. (2008). An eight-step paradigm for studying the reliability of group-level measures”. William T. Grant Foundation, working report.
Raudenbush, S., M, Andres., B, Howard., P, Zhu., and F, Lin. (2008). The reliability of group-level measures and the power of group-randomized studies. William T. Grant Foundation, working report.
Invited Book Reviews
Book Review: Jonathan Hassid, China’s Unruly Journalists: How Committed Professionals Are Changing the People’s Republic. The China Journal, (2017)
Book review: Fanxu Zeng, 媒体作为调停人：公民行动与公共协商 [Media as mediators: Citizen activism and public deliberation] Communication and the Public 2(1): 107-108
List of Publications in Languages other than English
Books
林芬《中国媒体转型：国家，市场与技术的角逐》（北京：人民大学出版社）（Lin, F. (Forthcoming). Transition of Chinese Media: The Seesaw Battle among the State, Market and Technology. Beijing: Renmin University Press ）
Journal Articles
林芬（2018）<權力與信息悖論：研究中國媒體的國家視角>,《傳播與社會學刊》。(Lin, F. (forthcoming). “Power and Information Paradox: A State Perspective on Studying Chinese Media". Communication & Society. 45, 19-46.
林芬，林斯嫻 （2017）<香港青年的中國觀：民族認同與學生運動>,《二十一世紀》，第164期。(Lin, F. and S, Lin (2017). “Being Chinese in Flux: National Identity and Student Movements in Hong Kong. Twenty-First Century. 164, 66-86.
谢颖，林芬 （2016）<抗争性政治中的群体差异与资源借用: 中产抗争与农民抗争的个案比较>, 《社会学评论》，第四期：34-48. (Xie, Y. and F, Lin. (2016). “Weapons of the Middle Class: A Comparative Study of Collective Action in China”. Sociological Review of China.4(1):34-48）
林芬, 王鑫 （2016）<浅谈英文学术写作技巧：把作者的问题变成读者的问题>，《新闻记者》第12期(Lin, F. and X, Wang (2016). On English Academic Writing Skills: Turning Authors’ Questions into Readers’ Questions. The Journalist Monthly. 12)
林芬，赵鼎新 （2008）<霸權文化缺失下的中國新聞和社會運動>, 《傳播與社會學刊》6,93-119. (Lin, F. and D, Zhao. (2008). Lack of hegemony: dynamics between news media and social movement in China. Communication & Society, 6, 93-119.
Book Chapters
林暾，庄巨忠，达玛娅秀，林芬（2008）<1990-2004年中国收入差距与增长益贫性研究>,《以共享式增长促进社会和谐》。中国计划出版社。（Lin, T., J, Zhang., D, Yarcia. and F. Lin (2008). Income Disparity and Poverty in China 1990-2004. In Inclusive Growth toward a Harmonious Society in China. Edited by Justin Lin and Juzhong Zhuang. Pp.213-232. Beijing: China Planning Press.
Conferences
Lin, F. (27/05/2018). “Digital intellectual property protection in China: Trends and damages in litigation involving the Big Five websites (2003–13)”. International Communication Association annual meeting, Prague, Czech Republic.
Lin, S., & F, Lin. (14/08/2017). “Why Framing National Identities Fails: A Case Study of the Anti-Moral and National Education Movement in Hong Kong,” American Sociological Association annual meeting, Montreal, Canada
Lin, F., & S, Lin. (13/08/2017). “Being Chinese? National Identity and Student Movements in Hong Kong” American Sociological Association annual meeting, Montreal, Canada
Lin, F. (29/05/2017). “Constructing Justice in Media Trials: An Analytical Typology of Social Justice in China”. International Communication Association annual meeting, San Diego, United States.
Lin, F. (29/05/2017). “Moving beyond Nimbyism?” International Communication Association annual meeting, San Diego, United States.
Lin, F. (29/05/2017). “Searching Tsangyang Gyasto” International Communication Association annual meeting, San Diego, United States.
Lin. F. (20/08/2016). “The Losing Media? An Empirical Study of Defamation Litigation in China,” The Judicial Reform in China Conference, Centre for Chinese and Comparative Law, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Lin. F. (20/07/2016). “From Social Movements to Party Politics: A Case of Hong Kong,” The Political Sociology Annual Workshop, University of Chicago and Renmin University, Beijing, China.
Lin. F. (13/06/2016). “The Losing Media? An Empirical Study of Defamation Litigation in China,” The International Communication Association Annual Meeting, Fukuoka, Japan.
Lin. F. (05/12/2015). “From the Uncles of Victoria Park to the Net-Gen Square People: National Identity and Student Movements in Hong Kong”. The Political Communication and Social Development Forum, the 2nd annual meeting. Beijing, China.
Lin. F. (27/11/2015). “Collective Identity and Student Activism in Hong Kong and Mainland China”. College of Mass Communication, Shenzhen University.
Lin. F. (11/10/2015) “When the Media Enter the Court: An Alternative Perspective of Media Ecology”. The Young Scholars’ Communication Forum in South China, 2nd annual meeting, Guangzhou.
Lin. F. (10/10/2015). “Revisit the Power: The State-Media Relation in China”. School of
Communication and Design. Sun Yat-Sen University
Lin. F. (11/03/2015). “Tara and Chinese Imagination on Tibet”. Invited guest lecturer for the course Sociology of Religion, Department of Sociology, University of Chicago.
Lin. F. (01/10/2014). “Who are the critical mass in online activism? A Case Study on the Role of Political Identity in Connected Actions in China. ”International Communication Association, regional meeting, Brisbane, Australia. October 01-03, 2014
Lin. F. and D. Zhao. (18/06/2013). "Bring schemata of interpretations back: the structured framing process the Anti-CNN movement." International Communication Association, annual meeting, London, United Kingdom. June 17-21, 2013
Lin. F. (13/05/2013). “Three Stages of Imagination: Politics of Cultural Consumption of Ethnic Minority in China” International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences, 2013 Annual Meeting, Venice, Italy. May 12-15, 2013.
Lin. F. (19/08/2012) “The Anti-CNN.com: New Wave of Nationalism and News Media in China.” American Sociological Association, annual meeting, Denver, United States. Aug. 17-20, 2012.
Lin. F. (18/08/2012). “Chinese Imagination and Cultural Consumption of Tibet”. American Sociological Association, annual meeting, Denver, United States. Aug. 17-20, 2012.
Lin. F. (17/07/2012). “The Moon over the Eastern Hill: Han Chinese Imagination on Tibet.” International Association for Media and Communication Research, annual meeting, Durban, South Africa. July 15-20, 2012.
Lin. F. and X. Zhang. (26/05/2012) “Contextualizing inter-media influence: Diffusion of online news on three collective actions in China” International Communication Association, annual meeting. Phoenix, United States. May 24-28, 2012.
Future Projects
- Hong Kong study：I will extend my research on student movements in Hong Kong to the relationship between social movements and party politics in the city, and examine its impact on Hong Kong–Beijing relations.
Authoritarian information regime： Continuing my research on the authoritarian information regime, I have started to explore how Open Government Information (China’s version of Freedom of Information) legislation has spread across China and its impact in terms of litigation against the state.
- Constructing justice in China：In the area of media–court dynamics and its construction of transitional justice in China, I am collaborating with legal scholars and sociologists on two projects. One is to explore perceived justice in China. We have surveyed litigants to explore what factors—including outcomes of litigation, perceived procedural justice, media exposure and legal experience—shape their satisfaction with China’s legal system. The other project examines high-profile medical malpractice cases from recent decades.
- Narratives in Han Chinese documentaries on Tibet：I will further explore how Han film-makers narrate the stories of Tibet.
