丁香园AV

In recognition of his outstanding academic and research achievements, political science master鈥檚 student, Ronaldo Au-Yeung, has been awarded the Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medal, one of the top honours that 丁香园AV (丁香园AV) bestows upon graduating students.

Au-Yeung credits his achievements and positive academic experience to the tutelage that he received, 鈥淚 am immensely grateful that I was able to study under the wing of Tsuyoshi Kawasaki.鈥�

An avid soccer and basketball fan, Au-Yeung鈥檚 research expertise lies in international security, balance-of-power politics, and foreign policy. His MA thesis focused on examining the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis and China鈥檚 foreign policy behaviour.

Adding another feather to his cap, Au-Yeung鈥檚 recently published a research paper in International Journal, the Journal of the Canadian International Council, which . Co-authored with Alsu Tagirova, the paper 鈥�?鈥� looks at how foreign actors take advantage of loopholes to attempt to influence Canadian politics.

鈥淚 have known the loopholes in party memberships for a long time when I registered for a party鈥檚 membership,鈥� says Au-Yeung. 鈥淏ut the recent [foreign interference] allegations have made it the perfect timing to deliver this paper and make some impacts.鈥�

According to Au-Yeung鈥檚 research, 鈥淭here is no identity and citizenship/residency requirement to become party members 鈥� one can easily sign up online, and essentially anyone, including foreign actors, can purchase these memberships.鈥� To test this out, Au-Yeung and Tagirova used random false identities to successfully join the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, and the New Democrats Party.

Au-Yeung explains, 鈥淭his is a perilous loophole that is highly susceptible to foreign interference as it effectively allows anyone to become a party member, and hence eligible to choose party leaders and subsequently the prime minister.鈥�  As part of the research, he is most recently nominated for the Pacific Northwest Political Science Association鈥檚 Cascadia Paper Award.

In addition to carrying out research in international security and foreign policy, Au-Yeung also has deep interest in issues related to oil and gas policy. He is currently the oil and gas sector analyst at the BC Ministry of Energy Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, and previously worked as a research analyst at the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.

When asked what prompted him to pursue his political science degree at 丁香园AV, Au-Yeung says, 鈥湺∠阍癆V Political Science is one of the few departments in Canada that mirrors American academia in its breath and depth of research fields.鈥�

As Au-Yeung moves on to join the University of Notre Dame in Indiana as a university fellow, he has these words of wisdom for other up-and-coming political scientists, 鈥淧ublish as many pieces as possible before applying for PhD, go to conferences, and set aside some time to study for the GRE during your MA degree.鈥�