Chinese cyber-nationalism and anti-Japan sentiment in speech: A cyber-ethnography of China

• In Event: 50260 - Section on Asia and Asian America Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 6: Nationalism, Governance, and Global Power in an Era of Surveillance and Control

Abstract

This research discusses cyber nationalism and anti-Japanese sentiment in the discourse on the Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge incident in Chinese online communities, as well as the official discourse on the Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge. This research analyzes whether China's official discourse on the Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge incident contains rhetoric that incites nationalism and anti-Japanese sentiment, and what the public's discourse and forms of expression on the Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge incident are. Is it a manifestation of cyber nationalism?
This research uses the methods of cyber ethnography and discourse analysis to examine nationalism and anti-Japanese sentiment in Chinese official discourse, as well as public discourse on the nuclear wastewater discharge issue. The discourse analysis will initially collect reports and narratives from Chinese official media such as CCTV, People's Daily and official documents, spanning three different periods: before, during and after the Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge. By analyzing the discourse in these texts, this study aims to understand how nationalism and anti-Japanese sentiment are used to shape public opinion, especially in the context of the Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge. In addition, this research will use cyber ethnography to examine the discourse published by Chinese netizens before, during, and after the Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge incident. These comments will be divided into three categories: comments that clearly express anti-Japanese sentiment or nationalism, comments that are influenced by misinformation but do not clearly express anti-Japanese sentiment or nationalism, and other comments. This method aims to observe the discourse patterns presented by the public and assess whether they are influenced by China's official discourse. Preliminary observations show that during the wastewater discharge period, China's official discourse did include statements that incited nationalism and anti-Japanese sentiment. However, public discourse varies from person to person, and only some people are influenced by China's official narrative.

Author

• Chen Wei Chung, Tunghai University