Athena Tong

Athena Tong is currently a Visiting Researcher at the University of Tokyo. She also serves as a Nonresident Vasey Fellow at Pacific Forum and as Research Associate & Programme Lead at the China Strategic Risks Institute (CSRI), a London-based think tank specialising in geopolitical risk and economic security. She sits on the Advisory Board of both NetMission.Asia and the Public Opinion Research Project for Domestic and Overseas Hongkongers. Since 2015, she has been engaged in political analysis and human rights advocacy related to Hong Kong.

Her research focuses on counter-influence operations, cognitive and psychological warfare, economic security, and China’s global influence strategies, with a particular emphasis on East Asia. She was previously a Visiting Scholar at the Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET) in Taiwan.

Athena holds a BSSc from Hong Kong Baptist University and Sciences Po Paris, and an MA in Political Communications from the University of London. Her work bridges geopolitical analysis, regional expertise, and strategic communication, with an emphasis on East Asia’s evolving security landscape.