Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis analyses the legitimation strategies of the Chinese authorities on social media platform Sina Weibo during the COVID-19 epidemic. Through a combination of computational and qualitative...Show moreThis thesis analyses the legitimation strategies of the Chinese authorities on social media platform Sina Weibo during the COVID-19 epidemic. Through a combination of computational and qualitative methods, it first highlights how Weibo’s digital design directly benefits central information control objectives. It then builds upon a theoretical model of disaster legitimacy strategies to demonstrate how official media make use of this design in their legitimation strategies. These strategies include age-old and highly familiar nationalistic frames, a recurring emphasis on positive energy, and strategic engagement and disengagement. This combination not only legitimises the authorities’ actions, but also delegitimises critical discourses. Nonetheless, this power is not absolute, and this thesis also presents instances in which actors “within” the system present challenges for the central authorities and force them to manage and re-frame ambiguous discourses.Show less
Newspapers all around the world have been reporting on the COVID-19 epidemic very frequently. Every newspaper however, has constructed their own narrative on the crisis, as well as on how the...Show moreNewspapers all around the world have been reporting on the COVID-19 epidemic very frequently. Every newspaper however, has constructed their own narrative on the crisis, as well as on how the People's Republic of China dealt with it. This thesis will show how "The Guardian" and the "People's Daily" have each constructed their own distinct narratives on the COVID-19 epidemic in China.Show less
China’s growing relevance on the digital world stage, and in the global economic system in general, calls for an analysis of its policies regarding blockchain technology. This thesis provides an...Show moreChina’s growing relevance on the digital world stage, and in the global economic system in general, calls for an analysis of its policies regarding blockchain technology. This thesis provides an analysis of a Chinese blockchain platform, NEO, to understand to what extent China’s blockchain policies serve its agenda for global leadership in the area of technological development.Show less
The People’s Republic of China has had an increase in economy, population, and military for the past three decades, becoming one of the most dominant powers in Asia. Therefore, the relationship...Show moreThe People’s Republic of China has had an increase in economy, population, and military for the past three decades, becoming one of the most dominant powers in Asia. Therefore, the relationship between The United States of America and The People’s Republic of China has been covered extensively by the media, especially when it concerned the territorial dispute of the South China Sea in 2001. The media uses frames to show different perspectives of an event or issue. This thesis concerns itself with how the media in China and the United States framed their position and the South China Sea island dispute. To uncover the frames, a qualitative, inductive frame analysis is conducted on a set of articles from the New York Times, Washington Post, China Daily, and People’s Daily, from the span of 2011 to 2012. Uncovered were seven different frames. Four from the New York Times and Washington Post and three from China Daily and People’s Daily. In The New York Times and Washington Post, the United States was mostly framed as an ally to the smaller and militarily weaker ASEAN States, with a special focus on the Philippines. The second frame established the Chinese position in the dispute, which unlike the United States had a more ‘negative’ connotation. It concentrated on the aggression that came from China’s action within the South China Sea dispute. These frames were the opposite in the Chinese media outlets. China was deemed the peaceful power, while the interference of the United States has led to participant countries becoming more aggressive in their actions against China. While American media, concentrates on presenting the South China Sea dispute as a tense and long-standing issue, Chinese media looks at it, as a new way to increase and deepen regional ties. Both countries shine a positive frame on their actions, while simultaneously casting the other in the role of aggressor or villain.Show less
The Social Credit System (SCS) constitutes an incredibly extensive overarching plan by the Chinese government to be implemented in China. One of the main issues that the plan aims to target is to...Show moreThe Social Credit System (SCS) constitutes an incredibly extensive overarching plan by the Chinese government to be implemented in China. One of the main issues that the plan aims to target is to raise the levels of trust-keeping and sincerity within Chinese society. Considering the recent incidents of food scandals or negligence towards road traffic victims in China often described as the crisis of morality or so-called "moral crisis", it poses a question whether the Social Credit System can be considered as a certain response of the government to the low levels of social trust and moral behavior. By analyzing the founding document of SCS, this thesis explores what kind of values the plan of SCS promotes and whether and how does it respond to the low social trust.Show less
In China’s far northwestern region of Xinjiang, the Chinese government and the Muslim Uyghurs are entangled in a conflict that has seen a rise in violence in the last two decades. The pinnacle of...Show moreIn China’s far northwestern region of Xinjiang, the Chinese government and the Muslim Uyghurs are entangled in a conflict that has seen a rise in violence in the last two decades. The pinnacle of this violence were the Urumqi riots, a violent outburst between Uyghurs and Han Chinese during which 197 lost their lives. This thesis researches how the state controlled news agency Xinhua has covered the conflict before and after the Urumqi riots by analysing English language news articles on the conflict and analysing discrepancies by utilizing a ‘discourse analysis’. The results of the research show that Xinhua has taken a more delicate approach to referring to the Uyghur conflict but the underlying focus of ‘cracking down’ on expressions of resistance remain in news coverage on the conflict.Show less
Censorship is a theme that plays a major role in the Chinese online, but also offline society. In order to maintain the status quo of the stability of their regime, the Chinese Communist Party...Show moreCensorship is a theme that plays a major role in the Chinese online, but also offline society. In order to maintain the status quo of the stability of their regime, the Chinese Communist Party ensures that, by issuing heavy guidelines, the online communities are unable to mobilize against the central government. In this thesis, I discussed the representation of the hashtag #十九大 by Weibo, in collaboration with the People’s Daily, during the 19th National Congress. I found the topic of this project to be of importance, since I consider online censorship in China to be necessary of researching on a case-to-case basis, to assess what instantiations of censorship practices we might find across China’s online spheres. This thesis used a comparative method, involving the hashtag page on Weibo and the storage database of censored posts on Freeweibo. I found out that not only the guidelines of the central government are to blame for the restriction of free speech, but also that the company Sina and a moral sense of self-censorship are important factors that play a role in the game.Show less
This thesis analysis how the Hong Kong identity is constructed in the film 'Ten Years', by means of a discourse analysis. Since the handover of sovereignty, Hong Kong is no longer part of the...Show moreThis thesis analysis how the Hong Kong identity is constructed in the film 'Ten Years', by means of a discourse analysis. Since the handover of sovereignty, Hong Kong is no longer part of the British Empire, but instead is part of China. Great Britain influenced Hong Kong during the colonial period, and the film depicts that as different from Mainland China.Show less
Global climate change has emerged as one of the world’s most serious problems, one requiring international cooperation. China, as a large country and big emitter, is vital to such cooperation. It...Show moreGlobal climate change has emerged as one of the world’s most serious problems, one requiring international cooperation. China, as a large country and big emitter, is vital to such cooperation. It is therefore important to understand China’s position regarding climate change and international cooperation. This thesis examined China attitudes and how these are changing by conducting discourse analysis of Xinhua articles published during the 2009 and 2015 United Nations climate conferences. It found China’s attitudes shifted significantly between these two conferences and it became much more willing to cooperate.Show less
This thesis examines the utilization behaviour of Sina Weibo by environmental NGOs within China. Within this thesis, qualitative research is being performed in relation to the utilzation of the...Show moreThis thesis examines the utilization behaviour of Sina Weibo by environmental NGOs within China. Within this thesis, qualitative research is being performed in relation to the utilzation of the different communicative aspects of Sina Weibo by several contemporary Chinese environmental NGOs. This is done through the emperical analysis of micro-blogposts. In addition, these results are furthermore examined within the context of China's specific socio-poltical environment and in relation to their associated dynamics.Show less
This thesis studies the discussion about the reforms of the Chinese government's family-planning law, using articles published by state-run news agency Xinhua. In particular, it examines the...Show moreThis thesis studies the discussion about the reforms of the Chinese government's family-planning law, using articles published by state-run news agency Xinhua. In particular, it examines the statements that authorities made about the abolition of the one-child policy. China's one-child policy has been gradually changed into a two-child policy in the last decade. Using methods of critical discourse analysis I conclude that the framing of these statements changed from an only choice frame to a best choice frame, with which Xinhua highlights that the CCP serves the people's best interests.Show less
According to the Securitization Theory, a threat is a discursive construction that justifies extraordinary measures for the sake of security. Despite being claimed to be universally applicable, the...Show moreAccording to the Securitization Theory, a threat is a discursive construction that justifies extraordinary measures for the sake of security. Despite being claimed to be universally applicable, the theory has been subject to a large share criticism for being Euro-centric, and thus inapplicable beyond the liberal-democratic context of the 'West'. However, soon after the US launched the 'Global War on Terror' in 2001, the Chinese authorities initiated the so-called China's War on Terror against Muslim Uyghurs; part of this policy was to construct a discourse that classified the Chinese Muslims as an existential threat not only to China, but likewise to the rest of the international community. Through substantial discourse analysis, this thesis provides evidence of how China's main news outlet, Xinhua News, constructs a discourse of the Uyghurs as a threat to justify extraordinary Chinese policies directed at Islamic practices, and simultaneously underlines the argument that the ST is universally applicable.Show less
This thesis discusses theories of nationalism and nation branding, after which this thesis analyzes three tourism websites of the Chinese government. The aim of this analysis is to see what kind of...Show moreThis thesis discusses theories of nationalism and nation branding, after which this thesis analyzes three tourism websites of the Chinese government. The aim of this analysis is to see what kind of discourse these websites engage in and to discover any kind of interesting things. It is also the aim of the analysis to see if there is an apparent overarching nation branding campaign behind all the three websites.Show less
