Name: Paradoxes of Chinese Feminism
Start: 2026-02-25T12:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-02-25T13:30:00-05:00
Location: Weatherhead East Asian Institute (located at the School of International and Public Affairs)

Yao Lin examines the paradoxical aftermaths of the Chinese #MeToo movement under party-state authoritarianism.
About this Event

For non-Columbia affiliates, registration is required to access the Morningside campus. After registering you will receive an email with a QR code that must be presented along with a government-issued ID (your name must match exactly the name registered for the event) at either the 116th Street & Broadway or 116th Street & Amsterdam gates for entry. Please register using a unique email address (one email address per registrant) by 4:00pm on Feb. 24 for campus access.

Names will be submitted for QR codes 1-2 days prior to the event. Registrants will receive an email from CU Guest Access with the QR code before or on the day of the event. NOTE: You cannot access campus using the QR code from Eventbrite.

Full Talk Title: Paradoxes of Chinese Feminism: Transnational Social Movement, Party-State Authoritarianism and the Regimatic Politics of Solidarity

Speaker: Yao Lin, Visiting Scholar, WEAI

Moderator: Andrew Nathan, Class of 1919 Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science, Columbia University

Yao Lin examines the paradoxical aftermaths of the Chinese #MeToo movement under party-state authoritarianism. While it profoundly transformed public discourses on sexual harassment and discrimination, the party-state’s silencing of leading activists created room for the rise of algorithm-savvy, censorship-adapted “jīnǚ (lit. radical feminist)” online opinion leaders who promulgate classist, trans-exclusive and pro-Party-State versions of feminism. Those developments cannot be fully comprehended within dominant frameworks of intersectional analysis or affective politics, and call for a distinctly regimatic approach of analysis.

Speaker's Bio: Dr. Lin researches and teaches across political theory, comparative politics, philosophy, and law. He currently works on several projects, including studies on Chinese and transnational feminisms, and on diasporic resistance to authoritarianism. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University Department of Political Science, and J.D. from Yale Law School.

This event is hosted by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute.