Jason Hung is a graduating PhD in Sociology candidate at the University of Cambridge. He is a five-time book author. During his PhD candidacy, he worked as a Fellow at Harvard University Asia Center, a Visiting Doctoral Fellow at Academia Sinica (Taiwan), a Global Health PhD Fellow at the United Nations University IIGH and a paid intern at the Asian Development Bank. He was also a recipient of the Sino-British Fellowship Trust Scholarship and the Humane Studies Fellowship. He spends his spare time making English pop music. He is an incoming Research Fellow at the East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore.
Research Interests
1. Sociology
Social inequality, social stratification, social mobility, social reproduction, (forced and voluntary) migration, life chances, demography
2. Public Health
Mental health, child health, sexual health, ageing and health, social determinants of psychological wellbeing, social health, environmental health
3. Education and International Development
Educational inequality, human capital, educational discrimination
4. Geopolitical Analysis
China-ASEAN relations, China-ASEAN health and vaccine diplomacy, China-ASEAN Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation; China’s soft power
Research Projects
2023/09 – 2024/02
Humane Studies Fellow, the Institute for Humane Studies
Completed Research Project: The Currency of Body: Prostitution and Community-Level Women’s Empowerment in Thailand
Research Output: Developed my 6th monograph - an original research project - which is under peer review by Springer
2022/09 – 2023/08
Fellow, Asia Centre, Harvard University
Completed Research Project: Trajectories of Media Narratives on China amid the Pandemic in Indonesia and the Philippines
Research Output: Developed a monograph where the book was published by Routledge on 2nd October 2023
Research Methods: Content analysis & systematic reviews
2022/07 – 2023/06
Visiting Fellow, Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica
Completed Research Project: Educational Inequalities, Poverty, Parental Absence and Social Protection: Impacts on the Wellbeing of Left-Behind Children in Rural China
Research Output: Four journal articles were published and a monograph is scheduled for publication by Springer
Research Methods: Systematic reviews, meta-analyses; panel data analysis; propensity score matching, structural equation modelling
2019/09 – 2019/12
Visiting Student Researcher, Rural Education Action Programme (REAP), Stanford University
Responsibilities: Conducted independent research entitled “Social Barriers to Educational Attainment in Rural China, 2010-2014”, and helped Dr. Huan Wang conduct the team research entitled “Evaluating the Impact of Reading on Rural Students’ Academic Performance”
2018/06 – 2019/02
Affiliate Student in Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IOPPN), King’s College, London
Responsibilities: Conducted independent research entitled “Psychosocial Wellbeing among Rural-Urban Migrant Workers in China: Did the 2008 Financial Crisis Worsen their Vulnerability?”
2018 Summer
Visiting Student Researcher, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley
Responsibilities: Conducted independent research entitled “The Conflicts between Cultural Taboo and HIV-Prevention: Is Stigmatisation a Barrier to Safe-Sex Practices among Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in Hong Kong Chinese Communities?”
Teaching
2021/10 – 2022/04
Undergraduate Supervisor, Department of Sociology, the University of Cambridge
Taught Module: Paper Soc 13: Health, Medicine and Society
2021/10 – 2022/04
Undergraduate Supervisor, Department of Sociology, the University of Cambridge
Taught Module: Paper Soc 3: Global Social Problems
Key Publications - Books
Hung J. (2024). Left-Behind Children’s Juvenile Delinquency and Substance Abuse in China: Policy Examination and Analysis. Springer Nature.
Hung, J. (2024). Visiting Sexual Exploitation: How Should Indonesia Strengthen Its Policies to Curb Sex Work in Response to Its Extramarital Sex Criminalisation. ISEAS Publishing.
Hung, J. (2024). Legalising Prostitution in Thailand: A Policy-Oriented Examination of the (De-)Construction of Commercial Sex. Springer Nature.
Hung, J. (2023). Indonesian and Philippine Media on China and COVID-19. New York, N.Y.: Routledge.
Hung, J. (2023). The Socially Constructed and Reproduced Youth Delinquency in Southeast Asia: Advancing Positive Youth Involvement in Sustainable Futures. London: Emerald Group Publishing.
Key Publications - Book Chapters
Hung, J. (2023). How Southeast Asian Countries Can Better Arrange and Deliver Internet Policies so as to Defy Digital Divide. In Danica Radovanovic (eds.), Digital Literacy and Inclusion: Stories, Platforms, Communities (pp. 61-77). Cham: Springer.
Hung, J. (2023). Digital Education, Academic Performance, and Mental Health: How Can Chinese Students’ Development Be Facilitated While Engaging in E-Learning. In Christine Coombe, Jacqueline Stephen and Georgios Vlasios Kormpas (eds.), Global Perspectives on Higher Education: From Crisis to Opportunity (pp. 485-94). Cham: Springer.
Hung, J. (2022). Adverse Economic Impacts on the Occupationally Insecure Workforce in Thailand amid the Pandemic. In B. Sloboda, & Y. Sissoko (Eds.), Economic Impact and Recovery Following a Global Health Crisis (pp. 77-105). Hershey, P.A.: IGI Global.
Hung, J. (2021). Social Barriers to, and Gender Gaps in, Educational Attainment for Rural Citizens in China. In Theresa Neimann, Jonathan J. Felix, Elena Shliakhovchuk and Lynne Hindman (eds.), Policy and Practice Challenges for Equality in Education (pp. 124-71). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Key Publications - Journal Articles
Hung, J. (2024, forthcoming). Sociological and Policy Examination of Poverty-Led Crime in Indonesia: Case Study of (Child) Prostitution. Journal of Poverty.
Hung, J. (2024, forthcoming). Transitioning to Greener Sino-Thai Belt and Road Initiative: How China Finance Thailand’s Environmental Sustainability. Environmental Health Insights.
Hung, J., Chen, J. & Chen, O. (2023). The Practice of Social Protection Policies in China: A Systematic Review on How Left-Behind Children’s Mental Health Can Be Optimised. Perspectives in Public Health.
Hung J. (2023) How to Capitalise on Media Communications to Promote Mental Healthcare for Left-Behind Children in China. International Journal of Public Health, 68: 1606023.
Hung, J. (2023). Why Legalising Prostitution in Thailand Can Help Bangkok Regulate Commercial Sex and Curb Sex-Trafficking Systematically and Institutionally. Frontiers in Sociology, 8: 1227247.
Hung, J. (2023). Indonesia’s Anti-Extramarital Sex Legislation: Why and How Should Policymakers Respond to Prostitution. Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 31(3), 417-22.
Hung, J. (2023). The Benefits, Risks and Regulation of Using ChatGPT in Chinese Academia: A Content Analysis. Social Sciences, 12(7): 380.
Hung, J. (2023). Is Psychologically Vulnerable Rural-to-Urban Migrants’ Mental Health Further at Stake under China’s Tightened COVID-19 Measures: How Should the Government Respond? Frontiers in Sociology, 8: 1095810.
Hung, J. (2023). Pragmatic Approaches to Control Inbound Sex Tourism and Prostitution in Thailand and Cambodia: The Suggestion of Multifaceted Policy Development. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 43(11/12), 1175-89.
Hung, J., Chen, J., & Chen, O. (2023). Are the Relationship between Mental Health Issues and Being Left-Behind Gendered in China: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS ONE, 18(4): e0279278.
Hung, J. (2023). Policy-Oriented Examination of Left-Behind Children’s Health and Wellbeing in China. Sustainability, 15(7), 5977.
Hung, J. (2023). Smart Elderly Care Services in China: Challenges, Progress, and Policy Development. Sustainability, 15(1): 178.
Hung, J. (2022). Subsets of the Population Benefitting from the Pandemic: What Policies and Practices Should be Arranged to Sustainably Maintain Beneficiaries’ Mental Health. Frontiers in Sociology, 7:1090785.
Hung, J. (2022). Policy Development on Upskilling/Reskilling Older Population Care Staff in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15): 9440.
Hung, J. (2022). Digitalisation, Parenting, and Children’s Mental Health: What are the Challenges and Policy Implications? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11): 6452.
Hung, J. (2022). Hukou System Influencing the Structural, Institutional Inequalities in China: The Multifaceted Disadvantages Rural Hukou Holders Face. Social Sciences, 11(5): 194.
Hung, J. and Mark Ramsden (2021). The Application of Human Capital Theory and Educational Signalling Theory to Explain Parental Influences on the Chinese Population’s Social Mobility Opportunities. Social Sciences, 10: 362.
Hung, J. (2020). Systematic Review on How the Delivery of Vision Care Policies Affects Students’ Academic Performance and Mental Health. Asian Social Science, Vol. 16 (7), pp. 94-9.
Hung, J. (2020). How Can We Account for Persisting Educational Inequalities in Rural China. Asian Social Science, Vol. 16 (7), pp. 46-56.
Hung, J. (2020). Cultural Homelessness, Social Dislocation and Psychosocial Harms: An Overview of Social Mobility in Hong Kong and Mainland China. Asian Social Science, Vol. 16 (5), pp. 1-12.
Hung, J. (2019). Internal Migration in China: Are Rural Migrant Workers Uniquely Socially Vulnerable? The Asian Conference on Education 2019: Conference Proceedings.
Hung, J. (2020). Internal Migration in Chinese Cities: An Exploration of Youths’ Experiences of Delinquency. Asian Social Science, Vol. 16 (2), pp. 1-11.
Hung, J. (2019). Psychosocial Wellbeing among Rural-Urban Migrant Workers in China: Did 2008 Financial Crisis Worsen their Vulnerability? Asian Social Science, Vol. 16 (1), pp. 54-68.
Hung, J. (2018). Parenting Styles, Academic Demands and Children’s Psychosocial Well-being: Why Today’s Hong Kong Chinese Students Are So Stressed. The Columbia Journal of Global Health, Vol. 8 (2), pp. 1-5.
Key Publications - Other
Hung, J. (2022). How the Application of Satellite Imagery Offers New Opportunities to Explore China’s Urbanisation and Development. Quality and Quantity.
Hung, J. (2022). Critical Review on the Trajectory of Educational Policymaking and How Migrant Children Have Been Affected in China. Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Hung, J. (2021). How Will Final-Stage Clinical Trial Results of Chinese COVID-19 Vaccines Impact on China–Indonesia Vaccine Diplomacy. Issues & Insights Vol. 21 Working Paper 11 Washington, D.C.: Pacific Forum.
Hung, J. (2021). The Climate of Civil Disobedience: How Different Parties Have Capitalised on Liberal Studies as a Political Instrument under Hong Kong’s Secondary Education Curriculum. Issues & Insights Vol. 20 Working Paper 1. Washington, D.C. : Pacific Forum.
Hung, J. (2021). Under the Hong Kong’s National Security Law, How Can Western Democratic Countries Support Politically Persecuted, Exiled Anti-Beijing Dissidents. Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration, 10(1), 133-40.
Hung, J. (2020). COVID-19 and Protests Need Not Cripple Tourism-Heavy Hong Kong. PacNet Commentary, No. 15.
Hung, J. (2020). How Hong Kong Hurts Itself by Financially Excluding Foreign Domestic Workers. PacNet Commentary, No. 5.
Hung, J. (2018). Immigration Removal Centres in England and Wales: Ensuring the Safety and Well-being of Immigration Detainees. Cornell Policy Review
Hung, J. (2021). Why Taiwan Should Develop Exclusive Refugee Laws for Hong Kong Political Asylum Seekers as to Defy Beijing’s Interference. Contemporary Chinese Political Economy and Strategic Relations, Vol. 7(1), pp. 173-85.
Hung, J. (2021). In China’s ‘Vaccine Diplomacy’ with the Philippines, Both Sides Are Taking Big Risks. East-West Wire. Honolulu, H.A.: East-West Centre.
Hung, J. (2020). Civil Liberties Are Rotten in the Aftermath of the Hong Kong’s Social-Political Unrest (2019-20): A Discussion on the City’s Financial (Un)Sustainability. Contemporary Chinese Political Economy and Strategic Relations, 6(3), 1445-55.
Hung, J. (2021). Indonesia’s Sinovac Rollout Sets High Stakes for China’s Vaccine Diplomacy. East Asia Forum. Canberra: Australia National University Press.
Hung, J. (2018). Urban Paradise Actually Purgatory for China’s Migrant Workers. East Asia Forum. Canberra: Australia National University Press.
Grants and Projects
2023/09
Institute for Humane Studies (IHS)
IHS - Graduate Sabbatical Grant
2023/08
Department of Sociology, the University of Cambridge
Cambridge Writing Up Bursary
2022/07 – 2023/06
Academia Sinica
Academia Sinica Fellowships for Doctoral Candidates in the Humanities and Social Sciences
2022/07 – 2022/12
Sino-British Fellowship Trust (SBFT)
SBFT Grant
2022/04 – 2022/06
United Nations University (UNU)
UNU-IIGH Global Health PhD Fellowship
2021/01 – 2021/12
Universities’ China Committee in London (UCCL)
UCCL Doctoral Research Grant
2018/04 – 2018/09
University of Warwick
Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning (IALT) Student as a Producer (Research) Fund Award
2017/07 – 2017/09
University of Warwick
Workplace (Placement) Bursary
2019
Rotary International
Rotary Global Grant Scholarship
2019
University College London (UCL)
UCL Hong Kong Scholarship Fund
2018
The University of Warwick
Opportunity Fund Award
2017
Tsinghua University
Full Summer Exchange Scholarship
PhD Supervisor
Media Articles
Research Groups & Affiliations
1. Humane Studies Fellow, Institute for Humane Studies (2023/09 – 2024/02)
2. Fellow, Asia Centre, Harvard University (2022/09 – 2023/08)
3. Visiting Doctoral Fellow, Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica (2022/07 – 2023/06)
4. Commitment Maker, Clinton Global Initiative University, Clinton Foundation (2019/12 – 2020/12)
5. Young Leaders Fellow, Pacific Forum (2019/12 – 2020/11)
Awards
Global Leadership Challenge (CLC) Emerging Leader, Social Sciences Division, the University of Oxford
