Editorial Coverage of the 2019 Hong Kong Protests: A comparison between the Taipei Times and the Global Times

In the summer of 2019, over a million people took to the streets of Hong Kong to protest a highly unpopular extradition law. Despite the withdrawal of the law, the protests continued for the rest of the year, throwing Hong Kong into turmoil, as protesters advocated for freedom and democracy. As a result, the 2019 Hong Kong protests became one of the most heavily covered events in the media, both nationally and internationally. The demonstrations received an especially large amount of attention in Taiwan and China, due to their proximity to Hong Kong and the Chinese government’s involvement in the protests. While Taiwanese politicians came out in support of protesters’ call for independence, the Chinese government’s increased involvement in Hong Kong’s inner affairs served as a catalyst for the protests. This study analyzed the discourse of 24 editorials covering the Hong Kong protests from two newspapers; the Taipei Times (Taiwan) and the Global Times (China). An inductive discourse...Show moreIn the summer of 2019, over a million people took to the streets of Hong Kong to protest a highly unpopular extradition law. Despite the withdrawal of the law, the protests continued for the rest of the year, throwing Hong Kong into turmoil, as protesters advocated for freedom and democracy. As a result, the 2019 Hong Kong protests became one of the most heavily covered events in the media, both nationally and internationally. The demonstrations received an especially large amount of attention in Taiwan and China, due to their proximity to Hong Kong and the Chinese government’s involvement in the protests. While Taiwanese politicians came out in support of protesters’ call for independence, the Chinese government’s increased involvement in Hong Kong’s inner affairs served as a catalyst for the protests. This study analyzed the discourse of 24 editorials covering the Hong Kong protests from two newspapers; the Taipei Times (Taiwan) and the Global Times (China). An inductive discourse analysis was utilized to see which linguistic and thematic methods were used by the authors to shape the reader's perception of the protests according to their newspaper’s ideology. Results showed that while the two newspapers’ coverage of the Hong Kong protests could not have been more different thematically, using opposing narratives and arguments, their style and rhetoric had a tendency to overlap, using similar rhetorical methods to get their viewpoints across to the readers.Show less

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Editorial Coverage of the 2019 Hong Kong Protests: A comparison between the Taipei Times and the Global Times