On September 18–19, 2026, the Hong Kong team of the PubDiplo Project participated in the 4th Forum on Digital Dissemination and Innovative Development of Intangible Cultural Heritage at Hong Kong Baptist University. Professor Sheng Zou presented grant-supported research on behalf of his team, joined by research team members Professor Regina Chen and Dr. Anfan Chen.
A Forum on Heritage, Communication, and AI
The forum was co-organized by the School of Communication at HKBU and the Institute for Cultural Innovation and Development at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Held under the theme “Strategic Communication, Innovation, and Global Engagement in the AI Age,” the two-day event brought together scholars and practitioners working across communication, cultural heritage, digital media, and artificial intelligence. The program featured keynote speeches, academic panels, and paper presentations on artificial intelligence, digital heritage, strategic communication, cross-cultural engagement, and cultural innovation. A central theme was the role of intangible cultural heritage as a resource for soft power and public diplomacy in the digital age.
Contested Heritage and Cultural Sovereignty
At the forum, Professor Zou presented his team’s ongoing research, “Contested Heritage: An Analysis of China’s Cultural Heritage Origin Disputes in Asia.” The study examines contentious debates over cultural heritage in the digital age, focusing on disputes between China and neighboring Asian countries over the origins of shared cultural practices and traditions—from pickled cabbage (pao cai vs. kimchi) and traditional dress (hanfu vs. hanbok) to the tea ceremony and the Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu–Dano). It highlights how competing claims and framings of heritage origins contribute to China’s assertion of cultural sovereignty. Drawing on a multiplatform dataset of news articles, social media posts, and user comments relating to prominent heritage disputes, the study offers a critical account of how cultural heritage is reimagined as a set of powerful symbols in contemporary struggles for cultural and political legitimacy.
From Heritage Communication to Public Diplomacy
The presentation represents one of the emerging research outputs of the PubDiplo Project, which examines how digital technologies, platform environments, and evolving communication practices are transforming public diplomacy and reputation management. Professor Zou also moderated a two-hour academic–professional panel, “From Cultural Heritage to Cultural Connection: Strategic Communication, Intelligent Media, and Place-Based Engagement.” Together with the panelists, he explored key questions and challenges in heritage communication and heritage diplomacy in the digital age. The team’s participation brought the project into dialogue with broader scholarly conversations about digital technologies, cultural representation and engagement, and cross-cultural communication in the age of AI.
