Critical Asian Studies
(formerly the Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars)

Voices from the Field

Commentary & Opinions

The Critical Asian Studies Commentary Board publishes public-facing, non-peer reviewed essays by scholars of Asian Studies bringing their expertise to bear on contemporary affairs in the Asian region. Essays typically take one of two forms: 1) Commentary pieces that offer a clear and concise perspective on a social, cultural, political, or economic issue of the day; or 2) Notes from the Field that engage topics confronting the field of Asian Studies as a whole, ranging from ongoing research projects, emerging questions, or field experiences, to issues facing researchers and teachers of Asian Studies. Explore recent Commentary Board essays listed below or use the search bar below to search by author or keyword. The Commentary Board is curated and edited by Digital Media Editor Dr. Tristan R. Grunow. Contact him at digital.criticalasianstudies@gmail.com or see more information at the bottom of the page if you are interested in submitting to the Commentary Board.

Read the most recent Commentaries here or view the archive below:

From the editor: A response to Chinese social media reports

In January 2023, Critical Asian Studies published an article by Diego Gullota and Lin Lili entitled, "In Stagnation: A Case Study of a Chinese Community-based Labor NGO in the Yangtze River Delta" (Critical Asian Studies 55.1, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14672715.2022.2145979). On November 12, a Chinese scholar emailed our journal and alleged that the authors of this article had engaged in unethical research practices. They claimed the authors had done some volunteer work for the anonymous NGO discussed in the article but did not receive informed consent nor tell people associated with the NGO that they were conducting academic research. They also claimed the authors distorted the facts around a sexual harassment case involving the NGO that is briefly discussed in the article. 

I forwarded this complaint to the authors, who responded with a detailed document. They said that the staff members of the NGO were aware of the project, and provided documentation showing this consent. They also noted that NGO staff members attended a research conference in 2019 in the  Philippines where they co-presented a paper with the authors. In addition, the authors noted that a Chinese court in December 2019 ruled in favor of a former staff member who claimed to have been dismissed from her job with the NGO after filing a sexual harassment complaint. 

On November 17 I responded to this scholar and provided them with a summary of the authors' response, with the latter's permission. Ten days later, on November 27, I received an email from another Chinese scholar with a link to a post on weixin alleging research malpractice and criticizing CAS for not retracting this article. 

The authors have provided documentation showing that the staff members of the NGO consented to participating in this project. We have offered directors of this NGO the opportunity to write a reply to this article, but they have not responded. 

Please note that both the name of this organization and all staff members were anonymized in the article; they have themselves made their identities public. 

Robert Shepherd

CAS Editor

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robert shepherdComment