What Is the Problem Represented to Be?: A Case Study of How China Central Television Network Represents the Problems in the Chinese Two-Child Policy
2019 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
In 2016, the Chinese one-child policy officially ended and was replaced by the two-child policy, which was designed to increase the fertility rate. However, the fertility rate had not increased as the state expected.
This thesis aims to provide a descriptive analysis of how China Central Television Network (CCTV) represents the problems that the two-child policy seeks to address between 1st January 2017 and 31st March 2019.
The purview of social constructivism, framing theory, and more precisely, "What's the problem represented to be?" developed by Carol Bacchi (2012), are used to analytically unpack how the news is framed. Within the analytical framework, this study conducts a single-case design with qualitative content analysis to investigate latent meanings in CCTV's news articles.
This study identifies that the problems in the policy are framed as a population problem (i.e. the low fertility rate, labour shortage, population aging) and an economic problem (i.e. the economic system, structure and development). I further suggest that the "priority of national interests" and "male chauvinism" are assumptions that underpin the representation. Also, that the issues of "discrimination against women" and the "elderly care system" are unproblematised. Additionally, due to the Chinese censorship, it seems difficult to criticise the representation.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2019. , p. 50
Keywords [en]
China, two-child policy, media framing, WPR approach, CCTV
Keywords [sv]
Kina, tvåbarspolicy, media
National Category
Political Science
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hv:diva-14500Local ID: EIS501OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hv-14500DiVA, id: diva2:1356878
Subject / course
Political science
Educational program
International Programme in Politics and Economics
Examiners
2019-10-042019-10-022019-10-04Bibliographically approved