Weibo , Framing, and Media Practices in China
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Weibo, Framing, and Media Practices in China Wilfred Yang Wang
Published online: 21 September 2013 # Journal of Chinese Political Science/Association of Chinese Political Studies 2013
Abstract This study uses frames analysis to investigate online discourses and processes of political deliberation on China’s weibo (microblog) service. It offers a comparative analysis of competing discourses surrounding the case of Wang Yue, a toddler who was ran over by two motor vehicles in Foshan, following which 18 people passed by and ignored her plight. The study aims to understand how weibo facilitate its users to express their differences and deliberate disagreements with each other. The study found that Internet users are rational in the sense that they do not simply lean towards a dichotomised choice of ‘pro-’ or ‘anti-’ official discourse, but they are able to negotiate their moral choices by considering a wide range of social and political factors in such an emotional and morally controversial incident. Keywords China . Frames/framing . Media Practices . Political Deliberation . Weibo
Introduction On 13 October 2011, a two-year-old girl Wang Yue (also known as Xiao Yueyue1) was hit by two motor vehicles in Foshan, a city in southern Guangdong province. Eighteen pedestrians passed but none offered assistance. She was later rescued by a garbage collector but died in a Guangzhou hospital 7 days later. This entire scene was captured by the street surveillance camera; footage was released by news media and quickly circulated on the internet. According to reports the incident generated 45 million posts on Sina Weibo [4], and 39.6 million search results on Baidu, China’s biggest Internet search engine.2 The incident provoked anger and condemnation of the two drivers and the 18 pedestrians, and triggered nationwide debate about social morality. The incident
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Xiao literately means ‘little’ and ‘small’ in Chinese. Chinese often use this prefix to describe young child.
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Keywords search the Chinese characters, Xiao Yueyue Shijian (Little Yueyue Incident), search done on 17 October 2012. (http://www.baidu.com/s?wd=%E5%B0%8F%E6%82%A6%E6%82%A6%E4%BA%8B% E4%BB%B6&rsv_bp=0&rsv_spt=3&ie=utf-8&rsv_sug3=11&rsv_sug1=8&rsv_sug4=17844&oq=%E5% B0%8F%E6%82%A6&rsp=1&f=3&rsv_sug5=0&rsv_sug=0&rsv_sug2=0&inputT=39053). W. Y. Wang (*) ARC Centre of Excellence in Creative Industries and Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Creative Industries Precinct, Z1-515 Musk Ave, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia e-mail: [email protected]
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W.Y. Wang
also captured government attention. The Guangdong government launched an online consultation platform on its Sina Weibo account to canvas public opinion about potential legislation to punish those who refuse to help others in a public space [40]. Despite the central government’s blocking of access to global social networking services (SNSs) such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, Chinese services such as Sina Weibo3 provide a relatively autonomous space to allow ‘deliberative dis
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