The Myth and Facts of China's Public Surveillance System: Evidence from the Government Procurement Contracts
The rising digital surveillance system in China attracts attentions from the world. In this talk, based on the detailed information of newly utilized government procurement contracts, Professor Pinghan Liang will introduce some ongoing quantitative works about the features, the motivations and social impact of China’s public surveillance system. The talk will attempt to answer the following questions: Why did local governments procure surveillance cameras? Which government departments are the main buyers? Did local governments use surveillance system to collect fines to alleviate fiscal pressure? What is the social and economic impact of public surveillance system?

Pinghan Liang is a professor at the School of Government, Sun Yat-sen University, China, and currently he is Swire visiting fellow
at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford. He holds a PhD in Economics from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain. His recent research interests include local government behaviour, Behavioral and Experimental Economics, and the social and political
impact of digital technology. He has published extensively in Economic Journal, Games and Economic Behavior, Journal of Comparative
Economics, China Economic Review, and other leading international and Chinese academic journals. His research was funded by the National Office of Philosophy and Social Sciences, National Natural Science Foundation, etc., and received awards from the Ministry of Education and various provincial governments in China.
Date: 31 May 2023, 13:00 (Wednesday, 6th week, Trinity 2023)
Venue: Dickson Poon Building, Canterbury Road OX2 6LU
Venue Details: Lucina Ho Seminar Room (first floor)
Speaker: Professor Pinghan Liang (Sun Yat-sen University)
Organising department: Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Organiser: Professor Todd Hall (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: information@chinese.ox.ac.uk
Host: Professor Denise van der Kamp (University of Oxford)
Part of: China Centre talks
Booking required?: Not required
Cost: Free
Audience: Public
Editor: Clare Orchard