This thesis takes an in-depth look at policies and measures that the Chinese government has taken that will make it desirable to bear more children and how this has possibly changed the Chinese...Show moreThis thesis takes an in-depth look at policies and measures that the Chinese government has taken that will make it desirable to bear more children and how this has possibly changed the Chinese Communist Party’s perception of gender.Show less
The Chinese Communist Party considers it its plight to modernize the country and make it a stable and innovative global competitor/leader with a well-backed middle class, while at the same time set...Show moreThe Chinese Communist Party considers it its plight to modernize the country and make it a stable and innovative global competitor/leader with a well-backed middle class, while at the same time set future technology standards. One aspect of such modernization is the technological development of the online gaming industry that has been growing almost exponentially in revenue over the last two decades and has plenty of room for further economic investment, technological standardization and norm setting. This thesis aims to find out how the Chinese government during Xi Jinping’s presidency has projected its national plans on the Chinese gaming industry. Its conclusion is based on a policy analysis of national plans that is supported by literature that address themes such as internet governance, soft power and nationalism.Show less
This thesis analyses the construction of Hong Kong national identity in online discussions about the high speed rail connecting Hong Kong to Mainland China and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai sea bridge in...Show moreThis thesis analyses the construction of Hong Kong national identity in online discussions about the high speed rail connecting Hong Kong to Mainland China and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai sea bridge in localist Facebook groups. The paper argues that the Hong Kong identity constructed in these discussions is indeed nationalist, i.e. based on the belief that the members of the nation share a common origin, and is built on the following themes: antiMainland Chinese sentiment, anti-CCP thought, and the importance of money as identity constructing entity in Hong Kong society. As a result, the construction of Hong Kong national identity by Hong Kong localists relies heavily on Othering Mainland Chinese, while there are few references to Hong Kongese cultural characteristics. The contributions of this paper are that it argues for the possibility of a Hong Kong identity to be seen as national identity and how this national identity is constructed by localists.Show less
This thesis is about shanzhai 山寨 as an innovation system. Shanzhai innovation is a phenomenon that takes place in the informal telecommunications sector in China. The production process of shanzhai...Show moreThis thesis is about shanzhai 山寨 as an innovation system. Shanzhai innovation is a phenomenon that takes place in the informal telecommunications sector in China. The production process of shanzhai mobile phones is embedded in a dynamic system of different actors that each take over a specific role in the production process. Through the network, actors acquire knowledge and information from each other and technology is shared openly. This interactive learning process accelerates the innovation process of new products and designs. The shanzhai network creates a wealth of knowledge and resources for mobile phone producers. This approach may enable businesses to grow and become innovative firms. The rapid growth of the internet company Xiaomi can be attributed to the characteristics of shanzhai innovation in their business model. To what extent shanzhai innovation can become a model for innovation will be analyzed.Show less
A commonly observed phenomenon is villagers have more trust in the central government rather than their local government in rural China. This article changes survey settings to urban areas and...Show moreA commonly observed phenomenon is villagers have more trust in the central government rather than their local government in rural China. This article changes survey settings to urban areas and seeks to study sources of the trust gap and implications behind it. Survey findings indicate the so-called hierarchy trust does exist in urban China. Moreover, drawing on analyses of questionnaires and interviews, this article concludes that urbanites’ evaluations of government’s performance and intention, belief in Confucianism and collectivism values, life satisfaction, previous experiences with government significantly shape their political trust.Show less
Since January 2013, Xi Jinping has launched a sustained high profile anti-corruption campaign that has targeted Tigers (senior officials) and Flies (rank and file cadres). The thesis uses both...Show moreSince January 2013, Xi Jinping has launched a sustained high profile anti-corruption campaign that has targeted Tigers (senior officials) and Flies (rank and file cadres). The thesis uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to look at the ways in which corruption is defined and explained in state media discourse. As the anti-corruption drive is aimed at Party members, the media on corruption is directly involved in the process of delegitimation of a portion of its members. Within this process, the Party launched a public relations campaign in order to counter the impact of the exposure of corruption cases at all levels of the Party and the government body, in order to re-legitimise the political authority of the Party. The thesis analyses a total of 145 corruption articles on Xinhua News from the years 2013-2016. It shows how the Party legitimises itself in four stages: the first and second, legitimating Xi Jinping as the moral authority and the CDIC as the “enforcer” of legitimate behaviour; the third stage, delegitimizing a portion of the Party as immoral through interlacing corruption narratives with discourses on moral values and public welfare; and the fourth, legitimation of the Party and the political system, through a comparison with corruption in other countries.Show less
The Chinese state has recently put a lot of emphasis on making “informatization” (xinxihua) the key engine of domestic economic and societal development. However, these plans also include schemes...Show moreThe Chinese state has recently put a lot of emphasis on making “informatization” (xinxihua) the key engine of domestic economic and societal development. However, these plans also include schemes such as the controversial Social Credit System. By bolstering the power of technology, the Chinese leadership hopes to increase the centralization of governing power and at the same time increase its control over Chinese society. New technologies such as Big Data or the Internet of Things (IoT) become crucial in these endeavors but these come not without risk, as they can be comprised or malfunction. By analyzing the policy documents issued on a technology like the IoT, this thesis tries to scrutinize the envisioned scope of the Chinese leadership’s techno ambitions. This wide scope goes from using this technology to transform anything from manufacturing to medical care, to improving social management and “military-civil integration” (junmin ronghe).Show less
