Event Details

Lancaster University China Centre lunch seminar with Dr Ye Xue of the University of Alberta

Lunch seminar - please send an email to china.centre@lancaster.ac.uk to book your place

In recent years, a growing number of Chinese youth have chosen to pursue degrees abroad, with many demonstrating an increased willingness to integrate into their host societies. An especially notable phenomenon within the Chinese international student (CIS) community in Australia has been their active involvement in local electoral campaigns—an engagement that extends beyond traditional academic or social integration. Our research aims to investigate this unique form of participation, exploring the motivations driving non-voting Chinese students to engage in Australian elections, the organisational methods political parties use to reach them, and the depth and nature of their involvement. Through this study, we hope to uncover insights into how and why Chinese students, despite lacking direct voting rights, are shaping their experiences and community ties in their host society by participating in political life.

Speaker bio: Ye Xue (薛野) is a research fellow at The China Institute, University of Alberta. He holds a PhD in International Relations from The University of Sydney. His research focuses on non-Western IR theory, nationalism, emotions in international politics, Chinese foreign policy, and Chinese international students’ political participation.