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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Altman PengORCiD, Dr James Cummings
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
In this article, we examine Chinese assessments of Western democratic systems in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research is based on an up-to-date case study of how Chinese Internet users discussed the UK Prime Minister – Boris Johnson’s infection with COVID-19 in late March and early April 2020. The research collected original data from the Chinese community question-answering (CQA) site – Zhihu. Using a mixed-method approach, consisting of content analysis (CA) and thematic analysis (TA), we show how Zhihu users evaluate the incident 1) as a way to express their sentiments towards Boris Johnson, 2) as a case to assess British politics, and 3) as a vehicle for rationalizing their views on Western democratic systems in relation to China’s domestic politics. The research findings shed new light on a Chinese gaze at Western democratic systems in the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
Author(s): Peng AY, Zhang IS, Cummings J, Zhang X
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Media International Australia
Year: 2020
Volume: 177
Issue: 1
Pages: 76-91
Print publication date: 01/11/2020
Online publication date: 09/09/2020
Acceptance date: 02/04/2020
Date deposited: 14/08/2020
ISSN (print): 1329-878X
ISSN (electronic): 2200-467X
Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X20954452
DOI: 10.1177/1329878X20954452
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