Date: 5 June 2025
Venue: Department of Sociology, Sino Building, CUHK

SGSD Lab Inauguration

The Social Governance and Sustainable Development (SGSD) Lab at CUHK’s Department of Sociology was officially inaugurated on 5 June 2025, marking a significant milestone in advancing research and collaboration on social governance challenges in the digital era. The lab’s establishment reflects a commitment to addressing pressing issues such as crime, dispute resolution, and sustainable development through interdisciplinary and technology-driven approaches.

Professor Tony Tam, Chairperson of the Department of Sociology, opened the event with a welcome address, followed by an introduction to the SGSD Lab by its Director, Professor Nicole W.T. Cheung. She highlighted the lab’s mission to “advance the scientific study of social governance and sustainable development through regional and global comparative research, industry collaboration, scholarly exchange, and graduate training.”

Forum Highlights

The inaugural forum, Crime, Disputes, and Social Governance in the Digital Age, brought together leading scholars from around the world. The event featured 4 insightful keynote speeches, 10 presentations, and 2 interactive panel discussions on cutting-edge research such as digital-based legal governance, global governance against violence, and AI-driven law enforcement. Local scholars from CUHK and the University of Hong Kong also contributed insights, while international participants joined from the U.S., Australia, Macau, and mainland China.

Prof. Ethan Michelson (Keynote speaker, Online, Indiana University Bloomington, USA) Topic: Reflections on My Naivete: Wishfully Thinking Public Pressure Might Change How Chinese Courts Handle Domestic Violence	Prof. Valarie Braithwaite (Keynote speaker, Online, Australian National University, Australia) Topic: Motivational Postures of Tax Authorities Concerning Tax Avoidance of Global Digital Companies

Prof. Ivan Y. SUN (Keynote speaker, University of Delaware, USA) Topic: Technology-driven to Media-driven Policing? Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Global Policing	Prof. Yucheng Liang (Keynote speaker, Sun Yat-sen University, China, Online) Topic: The Evolution of Crime Patterns and Their Governance Under the Transformation to a Digital Intelligence Society

Prof. Jieren HU (Hangzhou City University, China) Topic: Mechanical Responsiveness: China’s Online Petition System	Prof. Michelle MIAO (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China) Topic: The Shifting Boundary of Dispute Resolution: Shared Courts and Changing Governance in China (co-authored with Jieren HU)

Prof. Sishi WU (California State University, San Bernardino, USA) Topic: AI-Piloted Sociolegal Survey Experiments	Prof. Xiaojin CHEN (Tulane University, USA) Topic: The Perception of Risks Among Potential Chinese Line Walkers: Evidence From Digital Data and Its Governance Challenges

Prof. Bo JIANG (University of Macau, Macau, Macau, China) Topic: Telegram and Social Unrest in Hong Kong—Quantifying the Connections Between Online Harm, Sentiment and Real-world Consequences	Prof. Hong LU (University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA) Topic: Regional Variations in Guardianship and Fatality Rates: An Analysis of Terrorist Activities Using the Global Terrorism Database (GTD)

Prof. Bin JIANG (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China) Topic: Greenness, Deprivation, and Fatal Police Shootings: A Five-Year Nationwide Study in the United States	Prof. Mengyan DAI (Old Dominion University, USA) Topic: Enhancing Crime Analysis and Policing Strategies with CARESim: An Agent-based Approach

Dr. Kai LIN (University of Technology Sydney, Australia) Topic: Semi/Autonomous Robots in Policing—Assessing Australian Public’s Perceptions and Concerns	Prof. Xinting WANG (Ball State University, USA) Topic: Applying Machine Learning in Crime Forecasting: A Pilot Study of UCR Data from IMPD

The forum concluded with a Future Collaboration Roundtable, where participants discussed emerging research priorities, potential partnerships with SGSD Lab, and collaborative grant opportunities.

The participants engaged in lively discussions.

The organizing committee extends sincere gratitude to all keynote speakers, presenters, and participants for their contributions. Special thanks to the sponsors and CUHK’s Department of Sociology for supporting this landmark event.

Stay tuned for updates on upcoming workshops, publications, and events.

Issued by SGSD Lab, CUHK
9 June 2025