Hao Sun is an Assistant Professor at the School of Public Policy and Management (SPPM), Tsinghua University. He is also Assistant to the Dean and Assistant Research Fellow at the Institute for Intelligent Society Governance, and Director of the Research Department at the National Experimental Base for Intelligent Society Governance (Education), Tsinghua University. He earned his Ph.D. in Management from SPPM, Tsinghua University, and completed postdoctoral research in Management Science and Engineering.
His research focuses on intelligent society governance, cyberspace governance, technology addiction and prevention policies, AI education and youth development, spatial effects of organizational and cooperative evolution, and the sociology of gaming.
He has published more than ten academic papers in leading domestic and international journals such as China Soft Science, Journal of Tsinghua University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), Tsinghua Journal of Education, and Utilities Policy. His research on gaming and mental health has been fully reprinted in Xinhua Digest and the photocopied materials of Journal of Primary and Secondary School Education by Renmin University of China.
He has submitted over ten policy research reports to the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, the General Office of the State Council, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Education, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Many reports have received affirmative instructions from central leaders, been adopted by ministries, and published in National High-End Think Tank Reports. He has been invited to participate in decision-making consultations for relevant ministries and commissions on multiple occasions. As a core member, he received the Second Prize of the 9th Higher School Scientific Research Outstanding Achievement Award (Humanities and Social Sciences) from the Ministry of Education.
He has led several research projects including National High-End Think Tank projects, General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and sub-tasks of the National Key R&D Program of China (2030 Science and Technology Innovation). He has also participated in more than ten research projects related to intelligent society governance as a core member.
He serves as a reviewer for SSCI and CSSCI journals including VOLUNTAS and China Soft Science, as well as for Research Report of the Think Tank Center of Tsinghua University. He is an evaluation expert for the National Award for Empirical Educational Research and the Demonstration Zone Award for Local Smart Education Applications, and an expert of the Expert Group on AI Education Standardization in Henan Province.
Book Chapters:
Su, J., & Sun, H. (2026). Game Addiction (Chapter 7). In Su, J. & Zhou, C. (Eds.), Research on Intelligent Society: Academic Frontiers and Development Trends. Tsinghua University Press.
Refereed Journal Articles:
1. Sun, H., Su, J., & Wang, J. (2025). A Review, Reflection, and Construction of China's Online Game Regulatory and Social Governance. Journal of Tsinghua University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), 40(6), 217–230+269.
2.Su, J., & Sun, H. (Corresponding author). (2024). From Virtual to Reality: The Rise and Exploration of Research on the Transfer of Cooperative Behaviors among Online Game Users. Journal of Tsinghua University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), 39(4), 196–211.
3. Sun, H., Su, J., & Ru, P. (2023). The Health Cost of the Virtual World: An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Online Games on Adolescents’ Mental Health. Tsinghua Journal of Education, 44(6), 103–114. (Republished in Xinhua Digest No.4, 2024; Journal of Primary and Secondary School Education No.6, 2024)
4.Sun, H., Ru, P., & Su, J. (2023). Two Decades of Research on the Impact of Online Games on Adolescents in China: A Bibliometric Analysis Based on CNKI Academic Journals. Youth Development Forum, 33(2), 41–52.
5.Su, J., & Sun, H. (2022). Research on the Impact of Online Games on Adolescents’ Educational Expectations. Journal of Tsinghua University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), 37(2), 185–200.
6.Su, J., Sun, H., Ru, P., & Ma, L. (2022). Does Smart Technology Fuel the “Talent Race”? The Impact of Urban Mobile Government Services on Migrant Populations’ Settlement Intentions. China Soft Science, (7), 48–57.
7.Yin, C., & Sun, H. (2017). Exploring the Driving Forces of Urban Construction Decision-Making: An Empirical Study Based on Panel Data of Construction Intensity in 35 Large and Medium-Sized Cities. Urban Development Studies, 24(12), 30–37.
8. Muta, B., Sun, H. (Corresponding author), & Yin, C. (2018). The Impact of Integrated Housing Development Projects on Urban Poverty Alleviation: The Case of Addis Ababa. Urban Planning International, 33(5), 79–85.
9. Sun, H., Su, J., & Ma, L. (2021). The diffusion of the utility tunnel policy: Evidence from Chinese cities. Utilities Policy, 72, 101271.
10. Yin, C., & Sun, H. (Corresponding author). (2019). Impact of Municipal Political Decision Makers’ Turnover on the Degree of Building and Land Use in China: An Empirical Study Based on the Profiles of Municipal Party Committee Secretaries. Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences, 56, 132–148.
11. Yin, C., & Sun, H. (2018). Impact of Municipal Political Decision Makers’ Tenure on Physical Urbanisation in China: An Empirical Study Based on the Profiles of Secretaries of Municipal Party Committees. Lex localis - Journal of Local Self-Government, 16(1), 147–165.
Principal Investigator:
1. Sub-task of the 2030 Science and Technology Innovation Major Project, Evaluation Method and Application Demonstration of AI Governance Capacity Based on Social Experiments, Completed.
2. General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Virtual Avatar, Psychological Expectation and Behavior Compliance: Influence Mechanism and Governance Mechanism of Online Games on Users’ Cooperative Behavior Based on Social Experiments, Ongoing.
3. National High-End Think Tank Project, From Fragmentation to Coordination: Research on the Policy System of China’s Online Game Regulation and Governance, Completed.
4. National High-End Think Tank Project, Research on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Workers in New Forms of Employment, Completed.
Core Participant (Selected):
1. 2030 Science and Technology Innovation Major Project (“Next Generation AI”), Comprehensive Impact Social Experiment Research on Artificial Intelligence, Project Contact and Core Researcher, Completed.
2. 2030 Science and Technology Innovation Major Project (“Next Generation AI”), Ethics, Evaluation and Standardization Research on AI Social Experiments, Core Researcher, Completed.
