Suchergebnisse

This article examines the corruption scandal and trial of Chinese political leader Bo Xilai in 2012 and 2013 and the discourses associated with the scandal in the years afterward. It focuses on how mainstream media discourses portrayed the trial, discussed the problem of official corruption, and articulated the notion of the rule of law in the context of responsive authoritarianism. The Bo Xilai trial differed substantially from the typical mediated scandal event in liberal democracies. The case illustrated how political scandals in contemporary China can be occasions for power holders to present an image of being willing to address public concerns and determined to solve social problems. The analysis also suggests that political scandals can provide opportunities for the articulation and propagation of the power holders' preferred conception of social and political reform.

Some scholars have argued that the rise of digital media and a "high-choice media environment" have facilitated selective exposure and led to opinion polarization among the public. Others, in contrast, argued that digital media facilitate incidental exposure to news, connections with weak ties, and the building of heterogeneous networks. This article contends that the polarizing influence of digital media is not always materialized. Rather, the immediate political context matters, and polarization effects of digital media are particularly likely to arise in times of heightened political conflicts. This article analyzes survey data derived before and during the recent Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. The results show that political communication via social media was significantly related to extremity of political attitudes only during, but not before, the Umbrella Movement. The polarization influence is applicable to both people with and without a clear political orientation. Interpersonal discussion and news exposure also had polarizing effects on public opinion during the Umbrella Movement, suggesting that polarization effect is not unique to social media when the political context itself is polarizing.

Abstract
Typically grounded in a discussion of contact vs. threat theory, much research has examined the impact of the presence of ethnic minorities in residential contexts on people's attitude toward immigration. Yet, there has not been much evidence regarding whether the presence of a linguistically-defined minority can create similar impact under specific political conditions. This article examines Hong Kong, where the arrival of immigrants from mainland China has aroused controversies. The presence of Mandarin speakers, under the contemporary conditions, could be perceived as representing the cultural threat posed by China onto the city. Data from representative surveys were combined with district-level census data. The analysis shows that people living in a district with higher proportions of residents using Mandarin as the usual spoken language indeed favored more restrictive immigration policies. Contextual presence of Mandarin speakers also moderated the impact of tolerance and holding of negative stereotypes on attitude toward immigration.