Does the Chinese government engage in online public debates? A case study of political communications around the building of an oil refinery in Kunming, China

Wang, Qingning (2018) Does the Chinese government engage in online public debates? A case study of political communications around the building of an oil refinery in Kunming, China. Global Media and China, 3 (3). pp. 158-176. ISSN 2059-4364

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Abstract

This article discusses how the Chinese government engages in online political debates and whether it adjusts its policies to respond to public concerns raised in such debates. This research explores government actions and discourses by using debates between Chinese net-users and the government around the building of an oil refinery in Kunming as a case study. It finds that the government used traditional party newspapers and social media as platforms to express its opinions and to interact with net-users regarding the oil refinery. The reports published in party media and government social media posts acknowledged the government’s awareness of the public’s concerns, demonstrated their reaction to the concerns and reinforced the government’s agenda. However, although the government engaged with the debate, it did not change its decisions about the oil refinery to respond to the public concerns raised online.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	censorship,china,government engagement,online political communication,social media
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies
Related URLs:	http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	25 Oct 2018 14:30
Last Modified:	22 Oct 2022 04:12
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/68636
DOI:	10.1177/2059436418804274

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