Yu Pang joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as a visiting student researcher for the 2026-2027 academic year. He is currently a PhD candidate in Political Science (Comparative Politics) with the School of Government at Peking University. While at APARC, he will be conducting research on his dissertation, "From LGFVs to Local Investment Platforms: The Reorganization of Local Government Debt Risk in China."

Takeshi Niinami joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as Visiting Scholar, Japan Program Fellow for the fall quarter of 2026. He is a global business leader with extensive experience in corporate leadership, international policy engagement, and government advisory roles. He currently serves as a Member of the Management Advisory and Evaluation Committee of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and is actively engaged in global policy dialogue through leading international organizations, including the Trilateral Commission, where he serves as Chairman of the Asia Pacific Group. He was also former Chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings Limited, where he led the company’s global expansion and strategic transformation.

Professor Oh Byung Kwon joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as visiting scholar for the 2026-2027 year. He currently serves as Professor in the School of Management at Kyung Hee University. While at APARC, he will be conducting research on embedding deliberative democracy in AI systems, with a focus on democratic institutions in the Asia-Pacific including South Korea.

Alicia R. Chen joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as APARC Predoctoral Fellow for the 2026-2027 academic year. She is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University. She studies international relations and political economy, with a focus on China. Her dissertation examines the domestic political economy of China's international aid and finance, revealing how domestic politics and institutions shape its overseas economic activities. Her research is published in the British Journal of Political Science and has been generously supported by Stanford’s King Center on Global Development, the Freeman Spogli Institute, the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, among others. Prior to doctoral studies, she was a Research Specialist with the Empirical Studies of Conflict (ESOC) project at Princeton University. She holds an M.A. in International Policy from Stanford University and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Southern California.

Grace Xueqing Zeng joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center as Shorenstein Postdoctoral Fellow on Contemporary Asia for the 2026-2027 academic year. She is a political scientist specializing in international political economy, with a focus on China's use of trade and investment to influence global regulatory governance. Her research examines how states leverage economic tools to shape international rules and institutions. Her work on China's trade practices shows how China uses seemingly technical health and safety regulations to exert pressure on other nations, systematically increasing import restrictions in response to political tensions.

At APARC, she will pursue projects that extend this research agenda by examining China's growing influence in global governance. One project investigates whether China strategically uses infrastructure investment and foreign subsidiaries to shape international environmental standards. Another examines China’s information control system through the lens of its WTO commitments and the global governance of cyberspace.

Before joining Stanford, Grace was a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. She received her Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University. She also holds an M.A. in the Social Sciences (MAPSS) from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Hong Kong.

Ki Soon Park joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as visiting scholar beginning spring 2026 from Sungkyunkwan University, where he serves as Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Chinese Studies. While at APARC, he will be conducting research on economic security and industrial policy, with a focus on the U.S., China, and South Korea.

Taro Hamada joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as visiting scholar beginning spring 2026. He currently serves as Professor in the Faculty of Law at Senshu University. While at APARC, he will be conducting research on labor and trade policy, focusing on the U.S. and Japan as well as the Asia-Pacific region.