Linette Lim
linettelim.bsky.social
Linette Lim
@linettelim.bsky.social
PhD candidate at University College Dublin. Interested in authoritarianism, media control, & nationalism. Former journalist with a stint as a 互联网打工人
https://linettemlim.github.io/
And elsewhere, instead of confessing their love, they confess to being ‘lifelong confidants’. Plus! Under the pretext of paying respects to ancestors, they (sort of) went through traditional wedding rites
October 22, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Elsewhere in the show, they raise rabbits together (Rabbits are a gay symbol in China), and they also (sort of) raise an orphaned child together
October 22, 2025 at 3:20 PM
4. Signs of devotion / loyalty to one another during the vandalism scene (there is plausible deniability because platonic friends can also be loyal to each other)
October 22, 2025 at 3:19 PM
3. Gifting of chickens is a courtship / wedding tradition in some parts of China (and there is plausible deniability because the giver is drunk)
October 22, 2025 at 3:18 PM
2. Instead of direct intimacy, there is a lot of wordless gazing
October 22, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Among the ways it's queer-coded whilst maintaining plausible deniability - 1. Physical contact – Holding, wrist grabbing
October 22, 2025 at 3:16 PM
In my Media Politics under Authoritarianism class this week, we explored how to adapt a gay romance for Chinese TV whilst maintaining plausible deniability. We also discussed queer representation, feminism, & creative freedom. Showed students a clip of The Untamed. Their engagement made my week!
October 21, 2025 at 6:04 PM
The findings carry implications for the integrity of global media in authoritarian contexts. Journalists broadly respond by concealing their activities or by conforming to localized restrictions, contributing to our understanding of how state power is quietly contested or reproduced. (3/3)
October 20, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Particularly notable are indirect channeling tactics, such as legal ambiguity that deter reporting by creating an atmosphere of uncertainty for both journalists and their sources. Also significant is the role of mobilized citizens in obstructing journalistic activity. (2/3)
October 20, 2025 at 8:00 AM
My first solo-authored publication is out in The International Journal of Press/Politics! journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Based on 50+ interviews with foreign correspondents in China, it explores how authoritarian media control operates and the responses it provokes. (1/3)
October 20, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Had a great first APSA conference! Vancouver was a superb host city with amazing natural beauty & food. I learnt lots from all the panels I went to, made new connections, & caught up with old ones. Am particularly inspired by novel approaches to researching hard-to-study contexts
September 15, 2025 at 4:26 AM
In #Vancouver for #APSA today? David & I will present our paper which uses Taiwan as a case & examines the efficacy of misinformation frames there without exposing human subjects to harmful content. Ours is the Political Information & Communication in Taiwan panel, 4pm at West Level 2, West 217
September 11, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Teaching my own module this term: Media Politics under Authoritarianism. In our first class, we examined media’s role in society. Applying Hanitzsch's journalistic roles, students assessed that there aren't watchdogs and change agents in Irish media! Perhaps this is symptomatic of democracies?
September 10, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Happy birthday. At 60, you defy how a high HDI nation looks like, by being tropical, multi-ethnic, non-liberal, post-colonial, & lacking in resources. To paraphrase Rajaratnam, we've willed ourselves into being. & that's long before manifesting became a thing. Majulah, Singapura!
August 9, 2025 at 9:49 AM
We find that a theme of rising importance is political rivalry with the US, & that challenges to sovereignty draw consistent usage of the terms. Of course, this rhetorical strategy isn’t unique to China; history is full of parallels. I learnt a lot from the linguistic insights of Yurchak & Klemperer
August 7, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Happy polling day. Posted mine early this week. Majulah.
May 3, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Honoured to start 2025 with an invited talk at Kobe University, after presenting at the Japanese Society for Quantitative Political Science winter meeting. Got great feedback, got to personally thank 2 researchers for the R packages they created, & had many nice chats & meals with fellow travellers
January 9, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Randomly found out that there's a Dublin Road in Singapore, and there's a German Biergarten right on it! This photo symbolically captures the homes I inhabit and move in between. To more travel, learning and growing, and homecomings in 2025. Happy new year!
January 1, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Home for a bit. I have missed the tropical heat and rain, my mom's cooking, and the public infrastructure and social services of this non-liberal nation (e.g. a network of public gyms costing 1.8 USD/EUR per entry)
December 24, 2024 at 11:12 AM
I was raised by Teochew grandaunts who endured incredibly hard lives, from being transplanted from China to Singapore as babies, to having marriage prospects & education disrupted by WW2, & losing family wealth & starting from scratch. Today, they are finally all reunited (in Pure Land hopefully)
November 28, 2024 at 11:40 AM
I have finally made the jump here. Looking forward to sharing my research here, as well as building up for myself a new resource for ideas and information
November 20, 2024 at 2:31 PM