COM2118 Media and Society

Semester A (2014/2015)

Second Individual PaperStudent Name: Zhang YuweiStudent Number: 53049896Date of Submission: December 3rd, 2014

Analysis of Ethnic Minoritys Nature Framed by MediaCase Study of Kunming AttackIntroduction

With the rapid development of modern civilization and the social media, the whole society is greatly affected by various media, which actually represent and are controlled by different social groups. They are doomed to have different views and standpoints for the same social issues because of their different represented interests, and such differences are always reflected in their media reports. As one of the most important and sensitive issues, ethnic minority is always among the hottest discussed topics. In addition, different media usually employ different expression, reflected in the content and rhetoric, to frame the nature of the ethic minority. Just as Charlotte Ryan (1991) described framing as, how news stories are made, i.e. how pieces of information are selected and organized to produce stories that make sense to their writers and audiences. Through analyzing the contents and rhetoric of different media reports of the Kunming Attack, we could find the different attitudes held by different media towards the nature of the ethic minority in China, and then to explore the different ideologies of various interests groups. Content analysis would be employed to analyze the Kunming Attack, and to identify media frames of terrorism in this essay.Background TheKunming attacktook placein Kunming, Yunnan, on March 1st, 2014. This serious attack happened at 9:20 in the evening. Eight knife-wielding men and women attacked passengers and citizens at the city'srailway station. At the scene, police killed four assailants and captured one injured female. In the afternoon of March 3rd, 2014, local police announced that the criminal gang, which was composed of six men and two women, had been neutralized after the arrest of three remaining suspects (Net. 1.). The Kunming Attack was one of the most serious social attacks in recent years, and had caused great social turbulence at the earliest possible time. The incident, targeting against civilians, left 29 civilians and 4 perpetratorsdead with more than 140 others injured, which shocked the whole society. Relevant agencies had given out responses, while no group or individual stepped forward to claim responsibility for the attack. The government of Kunming proclaimed that the attack had been linked to Xinjiang militant. And the local policed announced that they had confiscated a black, hand-painted East Turkestan flag at the scene. In addition, since the attack happened, the domestic and foreign media have paid close attention to the development of this issue, and reported accordingly. Actually, the Kunming Attack is just another tragedy caused by the tense ethnic relations between the Han Chinese and the main minorities in China. Since the foundation of the Peoples Republic of China, the ethic disputes between the Han nationality and the other national minorities have never ceased, and have become serious challenges for the Chinese Communist. The riots happened in the past, such as turmoil in Tibet and Sinkiang, reflected the seriousness of the Chinese ethnic relations, and the urgency to deal with it in order to reduce the tragedies.There are fifty-six nationalities in China with different histories, religions, culture, etc. Thus, how to deal with the relationship among the different nationalities is quite a tough challenge for the Chinese government. Hasmath (2012) pointed out that In many violent cases that in relation with ethnic relations, the Chinese state tends to overreact to disturbances, exacerbating the problems. Actually, the overreacted attitudes of the Chinese government are reflected clearly in some authoritative medias reports. Theoretical Framework and MethodIn this essay, we would borrow the framework from Framing Islam: An Analysis of U.S. Media Coverage of Terrorism Since 9/11. Powell (2011) pointed out in this book that an analysis of episodic news frames of terrorist events since 9/11 demonstrates how thematic coverage of terrorism has developed through frames composed of labels, common themes, and rhetorical associations. Powell had five identified framing themes in his analysis, including naming of the terror suspect, motive for the act, descriptors assigned to the aged, probability of a future threaten, and portrayal of the victims. In this essay, we would adopt the first two themes mentioned above to analyze the major reports about the Kunming Attack. The reports of four major media about the Kunming Attack from March 1s April 1st, including the Chinese major media, that is the Peoples Daily and the Southern Metro Daily, and the major U.S media, that is the New York Times and the Washington Post, would be collected and analyzed in this essay. In order to be more objective and comprehensive, we would try to borrow insights from supplementary theory to interpret the results. As many relevant reports as possible would be analyzed in this essay, including 17 pieces from the Peoples Daily, 10 pieces from the Southern Metro Daily, 12 pieces from the New York Times, and 12 pieces from the Washington Post. As to the research approach, the essay would dissect rhetorical analysis and content analysis to explore the medias function in forming the nature of ethic minority. The coding procedure could be summarized into three steps. Firstly, looking for terms that appeared frequently within the content and not to read or cast meaning onto the terms. Then, comparing notes and discussing similarities and differences in observations. And finally, refining categories, pointing out the motive to choose different words to describe the terror suspect.AnalysisFirst of all, lets look at the reports from the Peoples Daily, which is regarded as the most authoritative newspaper in China, and even can be seen as the official statements sometimes. After the Kunming Attack, the Peoples Daily had reported the news for three days as the eye-catching headlines. On March 2nd, 2014, two reports introduced the attack and the responses of the state leaders and the government departments. In the two reports, the words used to describe the attackers were gangsters mobs violent terrorist groups. In addition, the two reports paid great importance on the casualty, and the huge negative impact on social stability and unity. Words used in these reports are quite severe, such as unscrupulous, atrocity, etc, which resulted the reports to be a little subjective. Similarly, the theme of the Peoples Dailys reports on March 3rd was also to condemn the atrocity, and to presented the governments plan to deal with the attack. Besides of describing the attackers as gangsters mobs violent terrorist, the reports on March 3rd also pointed out clearly that the Kunming Attack was schemed and launched by the separatists in Xinjiang. However, the focus of the reports on March 4th were different from the reports on March 2nd and 3rd, which stressed two points, including the international denouncement of the violent incident, and the government calling on Chinese people to carry forward the spirit of solidarity and militancy to deal with emergency and to defeat the enemy. The reports on March 4th stated the motive of the attack was to separate Xinjiang from China, to make ethnic hatred, as well as to destroy peaceful development and national unity in China.

Actually, the words and expressions employed in the reports of the Peoples Daily are full of political complexion, and are even seditious. The reports stress on the injustice, political goals, class struggle of the attack.Another important Chinese newspaper, the Southern Metropolis Daily also reported the Kunming Attack the first time. However, the words and expressions used in the reports are a little different from the People Dailys reports. From March 2nd to March 4th, the Southern Metropolis Daily used much ink to report the attack. When describing the attackers, the words mostly employed were gangsters, mobs, violent terrorists, and separatists in Xinjiang, which were also used in the Peoples Dailys reports. As to the motive for the act, there were some obvious differences between the two newspapers reports. The Southern Metropolis Daily stated that the motive is to separate Xinjiang from China, and to cause great social panic in China. Compared with the reports of the Peoples Daily, the Southern Metropolis Daily adopted a more objective perspective to judge the nature and impact of the Kunming Attack, and did not have many political aims. Different from the constant definition of the attackers as gangsters, mobs, or violent terrorists from the very beginning in the Chinese medias reports, the Western major medias attitude towards the incident and attackers had experienced a change by analyzing the words and expressions in the reports.On March 2nd, 2014, the New York Times also reported the Kunming Attack. In its reports, words like attackers, separatists rampage terrorist attack terrorism, etc, were used to describe the incident. Even through political terms, such as terrorism, were used, the neutral expression like attacker were much more likely to be employed in the reports (Net. 2.).In the twelve pieces reported by the Washington Post, expressions like separatists slashing rampage, etc, were employed, while words like assailants attacks were used more frequently. In addition, in the report posted on March 3rd by the Washington Post, it described the Kunming Attack as a new kind of attack for ethnic Uighurs, which was premeditated, well-organized and outside the disputed territory. In addition, it stated that the attack did not appear to be linked to the global terrorist network (Net. 3.). The Washington Posts reports revealed a more sensitive topic, that is the ethic relationship in China, as well as the global terrorism. Actually, the Washington Post did a deeper analysis of the attack from a global perspective.Reviewing the Western major medias reports about the Kunming Attack, we could see that the naming of the terror suspect have changed from attacker to assailant, and finally acknowledged them as separatist. As to the motive for the act, they adopted a totally different attitude from the Chinese medias reports. According to the Western reports, the Kunming Attack was not injustice, but for reasonable requirements, including for full independence and for equality of human rights. In the Western reports, the ethnic Uighurs were discontent with repressing policy of China government, and heavily stacked judicial system against Uighurs suspects. In addition, the Uygur culture was clamped down, and the Uighurs were long time experiencing discrimination on minor ethnic group. Actually, we could see that the Western major media adopted a totally different perspective to judge the Kunming Attack, which even headed in the opposite direction from the Chinese major media. Whats more, another difference between the domestic media and the foreign media is the different definition of the nature of the case, which is regarded as terrorist violent attack by Chinese media, which described as rampage or knife attack by the foreign media.In addition, we also referenced the relevant reports from SMD. Different from the Peoples Daily, which is party-press and condemns Kunming attack as a part of global terrorism, which aims to destroy Chinas development, the SMD is the Confucian intellectual, and focus more on damage to people.ConclusionDifferent media employ different expressions, reflected in the content and rhetoric, to frame different views about the nature of the ethic minority. As to the Kunming Attack, the foreign and domestic media have different descriptions in their reports. Comparing and analyzing the expressions involved, we could see that they have something in common, that is they all acknowledge the attack is harmful to peace, and is launched by separatist. However, differences still exist, such as the expression terrorism is used in the Chinese medias reports, while the foreign media uses rampage or knife attack. The difference actually reflect the different interests and values, that is Chinese media stress that society is crucial and national integrity needs to be fiercely protected, while the Us media stress that individuals are more important, and pay close attention to minority appeal.REFERENCESHasmath, R. Migration, labour and the rise of ethno-religious consciousness among Uyghurs in urban Xinjiang. Journal of Sociology. 2012.Ryan, C. What's newsworthy? In Prime time activism: Media strategies for grassroots organizing. Boston: South End Press. 1991: 31-52.

Net.1. 2014 Kunming Attack. Retrieved November 20th, 2014 from

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Kunming_attackr>

Net.2.Attackers With Knives Kill 29 at Chinese Rail Station. Retrieved March 1st, 2014 from

< www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/world/asia/china.htm>

Net.3. Knife-wielding attackers kill 29 at Chinese train station; more than 100 injured

. Retrieved March 1st, 2014 from