WeChat and the Chinese Diaspora -Digital Transnationalism in the Era of China's Rise
Digital Transnationalism
Written by
This is the first book in English on Chinese-language digital media in Australia. The book comes at a time when the relationship between China and the West is at its most troubling since the end of the Cold War. Combining rich ethnographic... Read more.
Why Trump’s WeChat ban does not make sense — and could actually cost him Chinese votes
Last week, Trump effectively banned TikTok, as well as the Chinese messaging and payment app, WeChat, by executive order. The targeting of WeChat, also due to perceived security concerns, has caused more confusion than Trump’s actions toward TikTok. Read more.
Wanning Sun. China finding its place in the world
Chinese Australians are feeling the heat, whether they support China or Australia. Read more.
Wanning Sun. Adversarial Journalism in the coverage of China
Australian media’s coverage of China has shifted to adversarial journalism. To change this status quo requires leadership and serious action. Read more.
New research shows Chinese migrants don’t always side with China and are happy to promote Australia
Our latest survey findings: What Chinese migrants think of Australia? Where do they stand on sensitive issues? Are they pro-Australia or China? Read more. Read more.
HAIQING YU. Chinese students in Australia and our responsibility
The discourse on China’s influence in Australia has recently shifted its focus to Chinese students on Australian university campuses. They are portrayed as the angry youths, brainwashed by the Chinese curriculum and the tightly-controlled propagandist media… Read more.
WanNing Sun: Chinese propaganda goes tech-savvy to reach a new generation
Propaganda in the 21st century has to go beyond forcing people to sit in study sessions on Friday afternoons, read the People’s Daily newspaper, or watch China Central Television (CCTV) in group meetings. For those institutions responsible for the production of effective propaganda, this is a real challenge. Read More...
HAIQING YU. Inside the world of the Chinese shoppers who are unnerving Australians
Reports on daigou (personal shoppers) in Australia have evoked mixed feelings about Chinese presence and influence in Australian everyday and economic lives. As the scale and murky nature of daigou is better known today, it is time that we got to understand daigou beyond the economic dimension. Read More.
WANNING SUN. Another Non-Story on China – An Example of Selective Framing
An ABC news story, ‘Chinese media mocks Australia and Prime Minister in WeChat posts’, fails to mention a few key points, and as a result, is potentially misleading, even confusing. Read more.
Is there a problem with WeChat?
WeChat, the most popular of the social media platforms, is problematic in Australia because it relies on only partially encrypted messaging, leading to concerns about possible PRC government surveillance and censorship. Read more.
Who do Chinese-Australian voters trust for their political news on WeChat?
There are currently about 1.2 million people of Chinese origin in Australia. Approximtely half of them were born in China and speak Mandarin in the home. Recent state elections show that the widespread adoption of the social media platform WeChat by Chinese-Australians has led to a much higher level of political participation. But whose information and opinions do Mandarin-speaking voters trust? And who is more likely to influence how they vote? Read more.
The Saturday Paper: Political engagement on WeChat
On March 27 this year, two weeks before the federal election was called, Mandarin-speaking voters in Australia were invited to take part in a novel political experiment – to interact, live, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten on the popular Chinese social media platform WeChat. Read more.
Chinese social media platform WeChat could be a key battleground in the federal election
NSW Labor leader Michael Daley’s “young Asians with PhDs taking our jobs” blunder cost him dearly in the recent NSW state election. His defeat also offered a taste of the crucial role the Chinese social networking platform WeChat could play in the forthcoming federal election. Read more.
WeChat, the Federal Election, and the Danger of Insinuative Journalism
A story appeared recently in The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) with an eye-catching title: ‘Warning WeChat could spread Chinese propaganda during federal election’. By linking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda with a forthcoming Australian election, the story draws heavily on views from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and represents a new and dangerous development in the China influence narrative. Read more.
Mandarin-speaking voters in Victoria: WeChat, new influencers and some lessons for politicians
The state election in Victoria saw a dramatic swing to Labor in areas with a high concentration of Chinese-speaking migrants. This article offers some reflections on the role of Chinese social media, WeChat, in this political process and the emergence of new online opinion leaders in the Chinese communities; and outlines some observations that may interest politicians wishing to woo ethnic Chinese voters in the forthcoming State and Federal elections. Read more.
Is the “biggest story” getting the best coverage?
It is time for ABC to improve the standard of its overall China coverage, and by sending Sarah Ferguson from Four Corners to Beijing is just not enough. Read more.
“中文数字和社交媒体在澳洲的使用情况调查”的调查结果
今年七八月间我们举行了澳洲第一次中文数字和社交媒体使用情况的调查。近日，根据部分调查结果所做分析和统计在The Conversation和“今日悉尼”上发表，感兴趣的朋友请点击此处了解更多。
What our survey on Chinese-language digital and social media use in Australia has found out?
Some of the results of our survey on Chinese-language digital and social media use in Australia have been published recently on both The Conversation and Sydney today, which has attracted much attention from different groups in the community. Read more.
WANNING SUN: PM Morrison’s Strange Speech to China and the Chinese: A Selective Charm Offensive?
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, accompanied by Immigration Minister David Coleman, paid a visit to Hurstville in south Sydney, dropped in on some local Chinese shops, and had lunch with around 80 people—members and leaders of the local Chinese community. Read more...
WANNING SUN: Reasons aplenty for China’s ban of the ABC
As a form of symbolism, banning a website works much more effectively than conventional expressions of official displeasure such as flexing military muscles, cancelling a trade deal, recalling a country’s ambassador or refusing a foreign correspondent’s visa. Read more...
Chinese Language Media in Australia: Developments, Challenges and Opportunities
By Professor Wanning Sun, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences University of Technology Sydney
Published by the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) 2016
INTRODUCTION
The size and demographic composition of the Chinese migrant community in Australia has changed dramatically over the past two decades, making the PRC the largest overseas birthplace after the United Kingdom and New Zealand. China has surpassed Japan to become Australia’s biggest trade partner, in terms of both imports and exports. Read more...
Other publications by Prof Wanning Sun and By A/Prof Haiqing Yu
Sun, W 2018, 'Diplomacy in the post-broadcasting era', submission to the Review of Australian Broadcasting Services in the Asia Pacific held by the Department of Communications and the Arts and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Sun, W 2018, 'Blind Spots in Australia’s Soft Power Strategies', submission to the Review of Australian Broadcasting Services in the Asia Pacific led by DFAT.
Sun, W 2018, 'Foreign correspondents in China: partner or liability in China's public diplomacy' in Thussu, DK, de Burgh, H & Shi, A (eds), China's Media Go Global, Routledge, Oxon OX, pp. 199-212.
Sun, W 2018, 'Soft power by accident or by design: If You Are the One and Chinese television' in Voci, P & Luo, H (eds), Screening China's Soft Power, Routledge.
Sun, W, Fitzgerald, J & Gao, J 2018, 'From multicultural ethnic migrants to the new players of China's public diplomacy: The Chinese in Australia' in China's Rise and the Chinese Overseas, pp. 55-74.
Yu, H. and Sun, W. (2019) Social media and Chinese digital diaspora in Australia: Local findings with global implications. A special issue of Media International Australia. Commissioned and in progress.
Yu, H. and Blain, H. (2019) Tongzhi on the move: mobile place-making practices among young Chinese gay migrants in Australia, Media International Australia, 137. Accepted for publication.
Sun, W. (2019) Sydney Today and Australia Tomorrow: Chinese Social Media and Implications for Australia’s Political and Social Life, Media International Australia, 137. Accepted for publication.