George Chen is is a practitioner–scholar with over two decades of experience across media, technology, and public policy. He is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Civil Society and Governance at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), where he has served on the faculty since 2023. At HKU, he teaches Digital Governance and Society (POLI8034 / SLGP7018) for Master’s students. Since 2025, he has also been Distinguished Visiting Professor at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, where he teaches Schwarzman Scholars each spring on the intersection of geopolitics and technology.
George’s research spans comparative governance models for AI in the U.S., EU, and Asia, the role of government in technology and innovation, and the evolution of digital colonialism. He frequently lectures in classrooms worldwide — from Taipei to Boston, Beijing to Tashkent, and Seoul to Ulaanbaatar. Most recently, he joined Professor Jing Tsu’s China in the World series at Yale University, speaking on AI governance, the geopolitics of technology, and the global race for digital infrastructure.
Before entering academia, George was Meta/Facebook’s first and most senior policy leader for Greater China, Mongolia, and Central Asia. In that role, he acted as the company’s “ambassador” in the region, engaging governments on issues ranging from the digital economy and data privacy to freedom of expression and supply chain resilience. Earlier in his career, he served as Managing Editor of the South China Morning Post and as a foreign correspondent and special projects editor for Reuters.
George earned his Master’s degree in International and Public Affairs (with distinction) from HKU in 2012, where he is currently a doctoral candidate researching misinformation. He has been recognized as a Salzburg Global Fellow (2024), Visiting Scholar at National Chengchi University in Taipei (2023), Yale World Fellow (2014), and advisory board member at NYU Shanghai. In 2022, he was awarded the Mongolian President’s Medal of Friendship, one of the country’s highest honors for foreigners.
Beyond academia, George is a Partner at The Asia Group, where he chairs the policy consulting firm’s digital practice. He regularly appears on CNBC and other global media outlets. He is the author of three books and speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghai dialect, and English.