Politics and public opinion in China: the impact of the Internet, 1993-2003

This dissertation is to provide empirical evidence as well as in-depth discussions to reflect the theme of new technologies like the Internet and its impact and implications on the political systems and public opinion in the Chinese context. It is the premise that technology can transform the mode of political communication and that this in turn can change the nature of political participation, as well as the milieu in which political discussions are made. This project concludes that the Internet has not at this stage fundamentally transformed China's political system, let alone caused a sudden political regime collapse and engendered a sweeping democratisation process. The Internet is, however, expanding people's minds, facilitating public discourse, and pushing for more transparent and accountable governance. In other words, the Chinese government is argued as not being as much in control of public debates on the Internet as it is of debates in other forms of media channels; the government cannot control and manipulate public opinion as much as it has traditionally done. This work has contributed to a more systematic picture of public opinion on political issues with documented examples, thanks to the Internet. Besides, this research has shed light on how to measure the impact of the Internet upon political debates, and to document the political impact of the Internet. Moreover, this dissertation highlights a usually neglected phenomenon that researching the political change or transformation in China can also be conducted form different aspects like the impact of Information Communication Technologies on its political system. The conventional approaches may be enriched thanks to the advent of new technologies in the increasingly networked, globalised and marketised world

Politics and public opinion in China : the impact of the Internet, 1993-2003

This dissertation is to provide empirical evidence as well as in-depth discussions to reflect the theme of new technologies like the Internet and its impact and implications on the political systems and public opinion in the Chinese context. It is the premise that technology can transform the mode of political communication and that this in turn can change the nature of political participation, as well as the milieu in which political discussions are made. This project concludes that the Internet has not at this stage fundamentally transformed China's political system, let alone caused a sudden political regime collapse and engendered a sweeping democratisation process. The Internet is, however, expanding people's minds, facilitating public discourse, and pushing for more transparent and accountable governance. In other words, the Chinese government is argued as not being as much in control of public debates on the Internet as it is of debates in other forms of media channels; the government cannot control and manipulate public opinion as much as it has traditionally done. This work has contributed to a more systematic picture of public opinion on political issues with documented examples, thanks to the Internet. Besides, this research has shed light on how to measure the impact of the Internet upon political debates, and to document the political impact of the Internet. Moreover, this dissertation highlights a usually neglected phenomenon that researching the political change or transformation in China can also be conducted form different aspects like the impact of Information Communication Technologies on its political system. The conventional approaches may be enriched thanks to the advent of new technologies in the increasingly networked, globalised and marketised world.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceChiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (CCFISE)GBUnited Kingdo

Political reunification with Taiwan : perspectives from the leadership, intellectuals and the general public in Mainland China

This thesis studies Mainland China’s standpoint of political reunification with Taiwan in the contemporary era (2008-2014). The exploration examines the perspectives of leadership, intellectuals and the general public under the analytical framework of state nationalism and popular nationalism. In general, the standpoints that “Taiwan as an integral part of China” and a “political reunification with Taiwan should be realized” are still the mainstream views in Mainland China. However, detailed reunification views vary among the different perspectives. In terms of the state nationalism composed by leadership and establishment intellectuals, the settlement of the Taiwan issue and the realization of the complete reunification of China represent the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). State nationalism regards a political reunification by “One Country, Two Systems” under the sovereignty of the PRC through peaceful negotiation as the best proposal. Meanwhile, it also reserves the possibility of executing military resolution to prevent the independence of Taiwan as the bottom line. However, considering the contemporary political reality across the Strait, state nationalism is also willing to make pragmatic explorations such as authorizing more autonomy to Taiwan and even initiating political reforms in Mainland to facilitate reunification in the special political circumstances that the country has not yet been reunified. As for the popular nationalism made up by the general public and public intellectuals, majority opinions are in favor of a political reunification though there is a clear division between the conservatives and the liberals. The most prominent views among the conservatives are that they believe Mainland should be dominant in the reunification process and mainland government is justified to use military force under any circumstance. In contrast, the most popular views among the liberals are that they believe the prospect of reunification cannot be realized without the political reforms in Mainland China. It should be noted that mainlanders no longer think as a monolithic bloc with the government as they used to do. While state nationalism mainly present as relatively conservative, popular nationalism shows a polarization. Popular nationalism is either more conservative or more liberal. Among the general public, some make objections to reunify with Taiwan and some openly show preference to the independence of Taiwan

Contentious Activities and Party-State Responses in Contemporary China -- Investigating China’s Democratisation during its Modernisation

The macroscopic picture of China today is highly contradictory: on the one hand there is an explicit scenario of modernisation initiated by the government and developing in unexpected depth and rapidity, and on the other hand an implicit but unrecognised scenario of democratisation nurtured by modernisation and actively involving different social forces. Due to the intensifying social problems – and perhaps even social crisis – that accompany the many transformations, such as the restructuring relationship between Party-state, society and individuals and the changing culture and value system, remarkable contentious activities have been launched by a wide range of social actors striving for their rights and interests. Underneath the dynamic character of contentions in China, this research will try to test the normative and ethical presumption that contentious politics promotes both robust civil society and representative government – the substance of democracy. I examine the contentious actions of the three significant social groups - the labourers, intellectuals and religious groups - and the Party-state responses to their politics, which are largely co-optation, toleration and control-repression. I also examine the important dynamic between centre and province with regard to their responses. My methods of documentation, interviewing and internet content analysis have been adopted in order to study these contentions and Party-state responses. The thesis concludes that the relationships between Party-state, society and individuals are restructured in contentions and interactions driven by modernisation. There are mounting democratic pressures and open demands from people with an increasing political consciousness, which challenge authority to different extents all over the country and will lead to China’s democratisation in both bottom-up and top-down directions

The debate on public opinion and judicial impartiality in mainland China : a critical review from a comparative perspective

In recent years in mainland China, a number of high profile cases have caused a stir amongst the public and triggered concern on the part of Chinese scholars about the negative influence of public opinion on judicial impartiality and judicial independence: a concern evident in a significant amount of research literature published in Chinese. This thesis is inspired by this debate and aims to critically review how far the assumptions on which it is based can stand. It applies a social-legal approach to examine the theoretical issues involved in this debate in China’s distinctive social, cultural, political and systemic contexts. It is not an empirical study of public opinion in China, but rather aims to develop a contextualized understanding of the normative issues at stake. It argues that public opinion itself is subject to various influences and that the substance of what is meant by the term “public opinion” depends on circumstances and contexts. Chinese scholars have employed a number of rhetorical themes or topoi which are also used in, or originated from, Anglo-American jurisprudence and other western legal literature. Some of the relevant legal values are also established by the letter of Chinese law or/and are argued for by Chinese scholars. Therefore, this thesis has conducted its critique from a comparative perspective in order to advance the understanding of the variation of the substance of the relevant legal values and institutions which appear to be rhetorically the same in different contexts

Role of the Court of Final Appeal of the Hong Kong special administrative region under China's "one country, two systems" principle

This thesis examines the constitutional performance of Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal (the CFA or the Court), and explores the appropriate role it should play in Hong Kong’s new constitutional order defined by China’s “one country, two systems” principle. It includes a wider discussion of China’s political and constitutional structure within which the Court’s operational context is defined, a consideration of the legitimate role of senior courts, and an investigation of relevant UK and EU constitutional practices. It evaluates the Court’s part, inter alia, in constitutional judicial review, the interpretation of the Hong Kong Basic Law, human rights protection, and the resulting constitutional and political implications. The Court’s role mirrors questions in relation not only to the internal political and legal order of Hong Kong itself but also to the broader constitutional order as to the central-regional relationship in China. It is the only institutional connection between Hong Kong’s common law legal system and Mainland China’s communist civil law system. When exercising its power of constitutional review and Basic Law interpretation, the Court faces dilemmas and sensitive situations, in which it has to handle with care the relationships between individual freedoms and collective good, judicial independence and executive efficiency, judicial scrutiny and legislative authority, regional interests and national concerns, the region’s autonomy and the centre’s power. A tendency of judicial supremacy emerges in post- handover Hong Kong, with profound implications for Hong Kong’s political life. While playing a significant role in human rights protection, the maintenance of good governance, and the achievements in constitutionalism and the rule of law in Hong Kong, the Court may also make some positive contributions to Mainland China’s own development in these areas. It is suggested that the Court adopt a modest and restrained approach in deciding politically sensitive constitutional questions, defining itself not only as a regional supreme court safeguarding Hong Kong’s autonomy but also as a national court protecting sovereign interests. A relationship of coordination, reciprocity, mutual trust and mutual respect between Hong Kong and the Central Government, and between Hong Kong courts (the CFA in particular) and other Hong Kong institutions should be built

CPC Futures

Distributed by NUS Press for the East Asian Institute. What will the upcoming 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) bring, and what will the next decade of CPC rule look like? Who will rule China and what future do they envision for the Party and China? In this volume, the East Asian Institute in Singapore brings together an exceptional team of world-leading China experts from Asia, the United States, Europe and Australia to set out the future implications of trends in CPC politics and governance in CPC General Party Secretary Xi Jinping’s “New Era.” The essays collected in this volume bring together cutting-edge research and insights into China’s economy, society, politics, military and international relations targeted at a professional audience in government, business, the media, NGOs and universities. The book is distributed Open Access under a Creative Commons license, and sold in print editions in Asia

Government Communication

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Government communication is a curiously neglected area of discursive analysis. No considered examination of the subject exists which provides either an account of the contemporary governmental landscape or an explanation of the common and divergent themes on both a domestic and international basis. This volume aims to fill that gap, providing a concise and illuminating case-study based review of government communication. It will be divided into three sections to reflect differences in both geography and political allegiances, scrutinizing continental Europe, Anglo-American traditions and newly emerging democracies. Offering a global and thematic account, it is an indispensable resource for all students of political communication