Since the launch of the information-broadcasting function—WeChat Official Accounts (hereafter WOA... more Since the launch of the information-broadcasting function—WeChat Official Accounts (hereafter WOAs) in August 2013, Chinese migrant entrepreneurs in Australia have been employing this function on WeChat as a channel of producing and disseminating news stories among the Chinese diaspora in Australia. The news-focused WOAs in Australia is not an entirely novel phenomenon; instead, they are situated at the historical continuity of Chinese-language newspapers and news-information websites. The engagement with WeChat transforms the previous Chinese ethnic media to ethno-transnational media, in the sense that content production and distribution effect are expanded inside and outside Australia. This chapter focuses on the influence of WeChat from China to Australia and seeks to address the question: how has WeChat’s governance changed the landscape of Australia’s Chinese ethnic media? To address this question, the author conducts the walkthrough method on the backend interface of the WOA system in order to examine the governance body and the regulatory framework imposed on the news-focused WOAs in Australia. Through the theoretical lens of platform governance, the chapter argues that WeChat has been proactively incorporating media accounts overseas into the platform’s own governance framework dominated by the Chinese state actors through the economic convenience and platform affordance accessibility. This governance model implies that, firstly, politically sensitive topics such as the current Australia-China tension are dodged by news-focused WOAs in Australia to avoid the platform’s censorship or are framed in a way that does not displease China; and secondly, the dilemmas emerge: news-focused WOAs in Australia identify themselves as “platforms” to evade the media responsibility whereas both Australia and China perceive those media accounts as “news publishers” and urge one another to regulate those entities through a media framework on WeChat. The chapter contributes to the broader understanding of the operations within digital-native or digital-dependent media organisations and the platform’s restructuration of the media industry.
Ethnic media are generally defined as media produced within migrant groups to serve their media c... more Ethnic media are generally defined as media produced within migrant groups to serve their media consumption needs. Scholars have been focusing on the construction of migrant identities in relation to their media consumption practices. This chapter concerns the construction of Chineseness within Chinese ethnic media developed in Australia. It asks how the concept of Chineseness has been constructed and represented in the course of Chinese-language media development and what factors that contribute to its construction and representation in the media sphere. The analysis is informed by the data collecting from the review of literature on Chinese-language media in Australia and the analysis on the currently remained first generational Chinese newspapers in Australia, established in the 1850s in Victoria during the Gold Rush. The chapter argues that the idea of Chineseeness in Chinese ethnic media is unfixed and inherently contested; it is largely dictated by its commercial interest and political imperatives. The findings of this chapter contribute to a more nuanced understanding of Chinese-language media in Australia and by extension factors within and beyond media sphere that shape the identity politics of Chinese diasporic communities.
The scalable networked media technologies have generated massive opportunities for both China’s c... more The scalable networked media technologies have generated massive opportunities for both China’s central government to optimise cities’ services, and citizens to contribute in the reconfiguration of urban space. This report identifies that with the ubiquitous information-computer technologies, urban conglomerates are no longer the materialities (Sassen 1991). An interactive urban domain, where citizens are empowered to shape urban space through contributing their personal information, has been gradually formulated and further enhanced. However, smart city technologies bring a new social challenge that urgently needs to be addressed: how to effectively protect citizen-generated data and their privacy?
Sharing economy platforms have ushered in a significant transformation in terms of intermediating... more Sharing economy platforms have ushered in a significant transformation in terms of intermediating platform users with platform developers (Boyd & Pablo 2016: 20, Redfearn 2016: 1023). Uber Technologies, Inc. (hereafter Uber), as a gradually maturing ride-sharing start-up, stands out due to its capability of providing riders with convenient vehicle-hailing service and allowing Uber’s driver-partners to gain incremental income from picking up rides. However, Uber incidents caused by Uber drivers are constantly raised to the forefront of media coverage and public debates. To this situation, Uber denies its accountability for Uber victims under the declaration that drivers are not counted as Uber’s employees, and therefore Uber is not responsible for driver-partners’ misbehaviours. This report discusses Uber in regards to its ambiguous contractual relationship between platform-employer and driver-partners and investigates how Uber’s relationship with its drivers should be defined. Therefore, I suggest that to further formalise gig economy platforms, clearly defined worker classification, responsibilities of Uber-like platform-employers and unified international regulatory framework of the gig economy business model should be put forth.
The bulk of academic debates has centred on the media representation of Muslims in the Western co... more The bulk of academic debates has centred on the media representation of Muslims in the Western context. A generic framework shows that Muslim figures have been repeatedly stereotyped, stigmatised, and terrorised by the Western media coverage, especially since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 (Morey & Yaqin 2011: 18). However, a dearth of research discusses media representation of Muslims outside the Western scholarship. This case study is of critical significance in terms of filling this gap. It endeavours to investigate how the mainstream Chinese news media construct the representational tropes of the Chinese-Muslims, through drawing upon the case study of 7/5 Urumqi riot. This case study contends that Chinese media discourse shows similarities but also differences with the Western media narratives, in regards to constructing stereotypical images of Muslims. It further argues that media stereotyping of Uyghur-Muslims perpetuates the intensification of inter-ethnic relationships between Uyghur and Han people.
What kind of nuances can be found in Chinese media representation of Muslims in the post-riot reports in 2009 in Urumuqi.
Journalism is a malleable sphere which is constantly influenced by economic, political, and techn... more Journalism is a malleable sphere which is constantly influenced by economic, political, and technological fields. For the last two decades, the impact of intensified globalisation and the proliferation of digital technology on the journalistic profession can hardly be underestimated. This essay seeks to identify how network journalists construct trans-border connectivity through digital devices by drawing upon the collaboration of journalists around the world on Panama Papers as a case study. I argue that globalisation and digital technology engender network journalism and reconfigure journalistic practices. Furthermore, the network journalistic paradigm liberates journalism from the control of the nation-state and advances the formation of the global public sphere.
This essay draws upon the investigative report ‘Under the Dome: Investigating China’s Smog’ as a ... more This essay draws upon the investigative report ‘Under the Dome: Investigating China’s Smog’ as a case study to reconsider the characteristics of journalistic professionalism in the Chinese context. Based on the earlier literature, I differentiate journalistic professionalism in the western context and Chinese context respectively, primarily focusing on how the Chinese professionalism is shaped by historical and philosophical backgrounds. I argue that contemporary Chinese-fashion professionalism differentiates from the western-style professionalism. Precisely, modern Chinese professionalism refers to representing all the people but still compromising with the state government and being constrained by economic giants.
This is the final assignment for the subject 'Culture Policy and Government'. In this research es... more This is the final assignment for the subject 'Culture Policy and Government'. In this research essay, I draw upon 798 Arts Centre as a case study and tease out the development and the decline of 798. In 2001, artists from home and aboard converged in 798 art zone due to the economical and practical factors (Wenya, H. & Kaixuan,C 2010: 23). In 2003, Beijing was recognised as the ‘Cultural City’ by Time magazine, primarily attributing to the popularity of 798 (Lily, K. et al. 2015: 126). Since 2006, the local government began to participate in the development of 798 by promulgating policies for the promotion of culture, which accelerated the process of commercialisation and gentrification and ultimately led to 798’s self-destruction. By combing the developing course of 798, the article demonstrates that 798 has generally undergone three phases, which are self-organisation, city icon and self-destruction, and each stage reflects the gaming of power among the artists, the Seven Star Corporation and the local government. I conclude that the government involvement speeds up the commercialising and gentrifying process and further undermines the cultural function of 798 art zone.
Currently, the Internet is deemed as the fertile field of the informationalisation and political ... more Currently, the Internet is deemed as the fertile field of the informationalisation and political civilisation in China (Yang 2008) and thus reaps extraordinary attention from the CCP and the central government. This article attempts to unearth the function of China’s Internet censorship by analysing the blocked ‘Under the Dome’ anti-pollution film. I argue that the objectives of the Internet censorship in China are guiding the public opinion and improving the political efficiency.
Many cities around the world are increasingly embedding technological infrastructure in urban spa... more Many cities around the world are increasingly embedding technological infrastructure in urban spaces. These infrastructures aim to collect vast amounts of data from citizens with an apparent purpose of improving public services. This article discusses privacy concerns generated by China's nationwide smart city campaign and further investigates why China's latest Cybersecurity Law is not adequate to address the risks to citizens' privacy. We argue that there is no functional privacy law in China that would apply to most data collected by smart city infrastructure; nor is there any law that would protect any personal data collected under this framework. We therefore propose practical suggestions to better protect citizens' data in China's ongoing smart city campaign.
Most media research demonstrates that migrants are depicted as a “social problem” in recent decad... more Most media research demonstrates that migrants are depicted as a “social problem” in recent decades, in both global and Chinese contexts. Based on that, this article seeks to investigate the 1950s-era internal migration project in Xinjiang, during which period Han people from the interior and eastern parts of China were relocated to frontier regions, such as Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, the Northeastern part of China, and Yunan province. It argues that conventional understanding of immigration is reified through stereotyped and stigmatizing media representations both in the global and Chinese contexts. However, China’s historical national projects and the relocation of Han people to the borderlands in the 1950s exhibit another facet of human migration, which is different from both contemporary international mobility and Chinese rural-to-urban migration. Therefore, this finding suggests that more research should be done to fill the following gaps: 1) the visualization of migrant figures should be further underscored by researchers; 2) socially advantageous migrants merit more attention from both media reportage and academia; and 3) the investigation of historical migration and its impact is needed.
Since the launch of the information-broadcasting function—WeChat Official Accounts (hereafter WOA... more Since the launch of the information-broadcasting function—WeChat Official Accounts (hereafter WOAs) in August 2013, Chinese migrant entrepreneurs in Australia have been employing this function on WeChat as a channel of producing and disseminating news stories among the Chinese diaspora in Australia. The news-focused WOAs in Australia is not an entirely novel phenomenon; instead, they are situated at the historical continuity of Chinese-language newspapers and news-information websites. The engagement with WeChat transforms the previous Chinese ethnic media to ethno-transnational media, in the sense that content production and distribution effect are expanded inside and outside Australia. This chapter focuses on the influence of WeChat from China to Australia and seeks to address the question: how has WeChat’s governance changed the landscape of Australia’s Chinese ethnic media? To address this question, the author conducts the walkthrough method on the backend interface of the WOA system in order to examine the governance body and the regulatory framework imposed on the news-focused WOAs in Australia. Through the theoretical lens of platform governance, the chapter argues that WeChat has been proactively incorporating media accounts overseas into the platform’s own governance framework dominated by the Chinese state actors through the economic convenience and platform affordance accessibility. This governance model implies that, firstly, politically sensitive topics such as the current Australia-China tension are dodged by news-focused WOAs in Australia to avoid the platform’s censorship or are framed in a way that does not displease China; and secondly, the dilemmas emerge: news-focused WOAs in Australia identify themselves as “platforms” to evade the media responsibility whereas both Australia and China perceive those media accounts as “news publishers” and urge one another to regulate those entities through a media framework on WeChat. The chapter contributes to the broader understanding of the operations within digital-native or digital-dependent media organisations and the platform’s restructuration of the media industry.
Ethnic media are generally defined as media produced within migrant groups to serve their media c... more Ethnic media are generally defined as media produced within migrant groups to serve their media consumption needs. Scholars have been focusing on the construction of migrant identities in relation to their media consumption practices. This chapter concerns the construction of Chineseness within Chinese ethnic media developed in Australia. It asks how the concept of Chineseness has been constructed and represented in the course of Chinese-language media development and what factors that contribute to its construction and representation in the media sphere. The analysis is informed by the data collecting from the review of literature on Chinese-language media in Australia and the analysis on the currently remained first generational Chinese newspapers in Australia, established in the 1850s in Victoria during the Gold Rush. The chapter argues that the idea of Chineseeness in Chinese ethnic media is unfixed and inherently contested; it is largely dictated by its commercial interest and political imperatives. The findings of this chapter contribute to a more nuanced understanding of Chinese-language media in Australia and by extension factors within and beyond media sphere that shape the identity politics of Chinese diasporic communities.
The scalable networked media technologies have generated massive opportunities for both China’s c... more The scalable networked media technologies have generated massive opportunities for both China’s central government to optimise cities’ services, and citizens to contribute in the reconfiguration of urban space. This report identifies that with the ubiquitous information-computer technologies, urban conglomerates are no longer the materialities (Sassen 1991). An interactive urban domain, where citizens are empowered to shape urban space through contributing their personal information, has been gradually formulated and further enhanced. However, smart city technologies bring a new social challenge that urgently needs to be addressed: how to effectively protect citizen-generated data and their privacy?
Sharing economy platforms have ushered in a significant transformation in terms of intermediating... more Sharing economy platforms have ushered in a significant transformation in terms of intermediating platform users with platform developers (Boyd & Pablo 2016: 20, Redfearn 2016: 1023). Uber Technologies, Inc. (hereafter Uber), as a gradually maturing ride-sharing start-up, stands out due to its capability of providing riders with convenient vehicle-hailing service and allowing Uber’s driver-partners to gain incremental income from picking up rides. However, Uber incidents caused by Uber drivers are constantly raised to the forefront of media coverage and public debates. To this situation, Uber denies its accountability for Uber victims under the declaration that drivers are not counted as Uber’s employees, and therefore Uber is not responsible for driver-partners’ misbehaviours. This report discusses Uber in regards to its ambiguous contractual relationship between platform-employer and driver-partners and investigates how Uber’s relationship with its drivers should be defined. Therefore, I suggest that to further formalise gig economy platforms, clearly defined worker classification, responsibilities of Uber-like platform-employers and unified international regulatory framework of the gig economy business model should be put forth.
The bulk of academic debates has centred on the media representation of Muslims in the Western co... more The bulk of academic debates has centred on the media representation of Muslims in the Western context. A generic framework shows that Muslim figures have been repeatedly stereotyped, stigmatised, and terrorised by the Western media coverage, especially since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 (Morey & Yaqin 2011: 18). However, a dearth of research discusses media representation of Muslims outside the Western scholarship. This case study is of critical significance in terms of filling this gap. It endeavours to investigate how the mainstream Chinese news media construct the representational tropes of the Chinese-Muslims, through drawing upon the case study of 7/5 Urumqi riot. This case study contends that Chinese media discourse shows similarities but also differences with the Western media narratives, in regards to constructing stereotypical images of Muslims. It further argues that media stereotyping of Uyghur-Muslims perpetuates the intensification of inter-ethnic relationships between Uyghur and Han people.
What kind of nuances can be found in Chinese media representation of Muslims in the post-riot reports in 2009 in Urumuqi.
Journalism is a malleable sphere which is constantly influenced by economic, political, and techn... more Journalism is a malleable sphere which is constantly influenced by economic, political, and technological fields. For the last two decades, the impact of intensified globalisation and the proliferation of digital technology on the journalistic profession can hardly be underestimated. This essay seeks to identify how network journalists construct trans-border connectivity through digital devices by drawing upon the collaboration of journalists around the world on Panama Papers as a case study. I argue that globalisation and digital technology engender network journalism and reconfigure journalistic practices. Furthermore, the network journalistic paradigm liberates journalism from the control of the nation-state and advances the formation of the global public sphere.
This essay draws upon the investigative report ‘Under the Dome: Investigating China’s Smog’ as a ... more This essay draws upon the investigative report ‘Under the Dome: Investigating China’s Smog’ as a case study to reconsider the characteristics of journalistic professionalism in the Chinese context. Based on the earlier literature, I differentiate journalistic professionalism in the western context and Chinese context respectively, primarily focusing on how the Chinese professionalism is shaped by historical and philosophical backgrounds. I argue that contemporary Chinese-fashion professionalism differentiates from the western-style professionalism. Precisely, modern Chinese professionalism refers to representing all the people but still compromising with the state government and being constrained by economic giants.
This is the final assignment for the subject 'Culture Policy and Government'. In this research es... more This is the final assignment for the subject 'Culture Policy and Government'. In this research essay, I draw upon 798 Arts Centre as a case study and tease out the development and the decline of 798. In 2001, artists from home and aboard converged in 798 art zone due to the economical and practical factors (Wenya, H. & Kaixuan,C 2010: 23). In 2003, Beijing was recognised as the ‘Cultural City’ by Time magazine, primarily attributing to the popularity of 798 (Lily, K. et al. 2015: 126). Since 2006, the local government began to participate in the development of 798 by promulgating policies for the promotion of culture, which accelerated the process of commercialisation and gentrification and ultimately led to 798’s self-destruction. By combing the developing course of 798, the article demonstrates that 798 has generally undergone three phases, which are self-organisation, city icon and self-destruction, and each stage reflects the gaming of power among the artists, the Seven Star Corporation and the local government. I conclude that the government involvement speeds up the commercialising and gentrifying process and further undermines the cultural function of 798 art zone.
Currently, the Internet is deemed as the fertile field of the informationalisation and political ... more Currently, the Internet is deemed as the fertile field of the informationalisation and political civilisation in China (Yang 2008) and thus reaps extraordinary attention from the CCP and the central government. This article attempts to unearth the function of China’s Internet censorship by analysing the blocked ‘Under the Dome’ anti-pollution film. I argue that the objectives of the Internet censorship in China are guiding the public opinion and improving the political efficiency.
Many cities around the world are increasingly embedding technological infrastructure in urban spa... more Many cities around the world are increasingly embedding technological infrastructure in urban spaces. These infrastructures aim to collect vast amounts of data from citizens with an apparent purpose of improving public services. This article discusses privacy concerns generated by China's nationwide smart city campaign and further investigates why China's latest Cybersecurity Law is not adequate to address the risks to citizens' privacy. We argue that there is no functional privacy law in China that would apply to most data collected by smart city infrastructure; nor is there any law that would protect any personal data collected under this framework. We therefore propose practical suggestions to better protect citizens' data in China's ongoing smart city campaign.
Most media research demonstrates that migrants are depicted as a “social problem” in recent decad... more Most media research demonstrates that migrants are depicted as a “social problem” in recent decades, in both global and Chinese contexts. Based on that, this article seeks to investigate the 1950s-era internal migration project in Xinjiang, during which period Han people from the interior and eastern parts of China were relocated to frontier regions, such as Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, the Northeastern part of China, and Yunan province. It argues that conventional understanding of immigration is reified through stereotyped and stigmatizing media representations both in the global and Chinese contexts. However, China’s historical national projects and the relocation of Han people to the borderlands in the 1950s exhibit another facet of human migration, which is different from both contemporary international mobility and Chinese rural-to-urban migration. Therefore, this finding suggests that more research should be done to fill the following gaps: 1) the visualization of migrant figures should be further underscored by researchers; 2) socially advantageous migrants merit more attention from both media reportage and academia; and 3) the investigation of historical migration and its impact is needed.
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What kind of nuances can be found in Chinese media representation of Muslims in the post-riot reports in 2009 in Urumuqi.
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global and Chinese contexts. Based on that, this article seeks to investigate the 1950s-era internal migration project in
Xinjiang, during which period Han people from the interior and eastern parts of China were relocated to frontier
regions, such as Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, the Northeastern part of China, and Yunan province. It argues that
conventional understanding of immigration is reified through stereotyped and stigmatizing media representations both in
the global and Chinese contexts. However, China’s historical national projects and the relocation of Han people to the
borderlands in the 1950s exhibit another facet of human migration, which is different from both contemporary
international mobility and Chinese rural-to-urban migration. Therefore, this finding suggests that more research should
be done to fill the following gaps: 1) the visualization of migrant figures should be further underscored by researchers;
2) socially advantageous migrants merit more attention from both media reportage and academia; and
3) the investigation of historical migration and its impact is needed.
What kind of nuances can be found in Chinese media representation of Muslims in the post-riot reports in 2009 in Urumuqi.
global and Chinese contexts. Based on that, this article seeks to investigate the 1950s-era internal migration project in
Xinjiang, during which period Han people from the interior and eastern parts of China were relocated to frontier
regions, such as Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, the Northeastern part of China, and Yunan province. It argues that
conventional understanding of immigration is reified through stereotyped and stigmatizing media representations both in
the global and Chinese contexts. However, China’s historical national projects and the relocation of Han people to the
borderlands in the 1950s exhibit another facet of human migration, which is different from both contemporary
international mobility and Chinese rural-to-urban migration. Therefore, this finding suggests that more research should
be done to fill the following gaps: 1) the visualization of migrant figures should be further underscored by researchers;
2) socially advantageous migrants merit more attention from both media reportage and academia; and
3) the investigation of historical migration and its impact is needed.