Factionalism and the Red Guards under Mao's China: Ideal Point Estimation Using Text Data
Speaker: (opens in a new window)David Yen-Chieh Liao (University College Dublin)
Wednesday, January 24, 14:00–14:45 (Irish time)
Please register (opens in a new window)here to receive the link and password to the online meeting and information on the room at UCD.
Abstract: Research on "Red Guard newspapers and pamphlets (wenge xiaobao)'' during the Cultural Revolution reveals diverse historical and social dynamics, providing an important vehicle for understanding the political and cultural phenomena of that period in China. This paper presents a systematic analysis of the historical archive of these publications, including handwritten big-character posters from 1966 to 1968. To examine discourse disagreements and cleavages among Red Guard organizations, we have implemented a new form of text scaling estimation that leverages information extraction techniques in natural language processing to extract high-frequency keywords (slogans) and employs Wordfish to estimate the latent preference of each Red Guard organization. Our findings highlight historical accounts of factional disputes within the event, showcasing the diverse interpretations of Mao Zedong's leadership and the Little Red Book by students from various organizations and factions.
About the speaker: (opens in a new window)David Yen-Chieh Liao is a researcher at NexSys and a postdoc in the Text and Policy Research Group, led by Dr. Stefan Müller, based in the School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin.
His research primarily focuses on legislative studies, party competition, electoral systems, and Taiwan politics. He is particularly interested in measuring ideological preferences through legislative voting, expert surveys, and analysis of parliamentary speeches and political texts. His recent work involves quantitative text analysis and computational methods to understand the political narratives of political elites and their impact on public attitudes and expectations of the future.