Three Faces of Reflexivity

Jennifer Eagleton

Macquarie University, Sydneyjenny@asian-emphasis.com

Three “Reflexivities” in a Critical Discourse Analytical Study of the Discourses of Hong Kong’s Future Democratization

My “personal” reflexivity is as a Hong Kong resident experiencing Hong Kong’s democratization discourse firsthand and as a citizen of a fully democratic country with ties to Great Britain.

In the second, “epistemological” reflexivity, my research parameters were constantly challenged: Is my research question adequately defined?” “Could it have been investigated differently? Has the study’s design and method of analysis “constructed” the data/findings and would this have given rise to a different understanding of Hong Kong’s democratization discourse?

The third reflexivity, which I call “reactive” reflexivity, is the interesting effects on the researcher of the research itself on her social, cultural and political life.

These “reflexivities” relate to my ongoing PhD research

Personal Reflexivity

HK resident since Oct. 1997

Both an insider/outsider to language and social change in Hong Kong

Background coming from a “fully” democratic country

The “Ultimate Aim”: Discourses of Future Democratization in Post-handover Hong Kong

How does one study an ongoing democratization process? This photograph and the thesis title may suggest some ideas

The Hong Kong Basic Law

Article 45 (Excerpt): The method for selecting the Chief Executive shall be specified in the light of

the actual situation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. The ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures.

Article 68 (Excerpt) The method for forming the Legislative Council shall be specified in the light of

the actual situation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. The ultimate aim is the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage.

These excerpts are from Hong Kong’s constitutional document the Basic Law. The highlighted words and phrases are contested aspects of democratization discourse in Hong Kongand they result from historical factors when the Basic Law was being drafted. These have largely informed my study. See the following slide.

Epistemological Reflexivity

“The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” – William Faulkner

“Discourse is always historical, that is, it is connected synchronically and diachronically with other communicative events which are happening at the same time or which have happened before” (Wodak,1995: 12).

The following slide relates to some things to consider in discussing Hong Kong’s democratization discourse and which could relate to selected a method/approach to use in studying this discourse.

Hong Kong and the “China Factor”

Before 1997 Hong Kong was “a problem left over from history” [Opium War, unequal treaties]

Decolonization without independence but a “high degree of autonomy” with ultimate promise of universal suffrage

US/Democracy as an “essentially contested concept”

Governed since 1 July 1997 under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle:

“The socialist system and policies shall

not be practised in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years.” (Article 5 Basic Law)

“

Critical Discourse Analysis

CDA perceives discourse as a form of social practice and assumes a dialectical relationship between particular discursive events (Fairclough & Wodak, 1997).

CDA examines how discursive sources are maintained and reproduced within these specific social, political and historical contexts by studying and analyzing…texts to reveal the discursive sources of “power, dominance, inequality and bias” (van Dijk, 1998).

Discourse-historical Approach to CDA

I needed to find a method/approach that took into account the importance of historical factors and their impact on the present. I found the work of Ruth Wodak useful as it Integrates and triangulates knowledge about historical intertextual sources and the background of the social and political fields within which the discursive events are embedded.

DHA distinguishes between three dimensions that constitute textual meaning and structures.

1. Topics of discussion

2. Discursive strategies employed

3. Linguistic means that are drawn upon to realize both topics and strategies (Wodak, 2010)

In this way, themes can emerge providing a “texture”, a cohesion to the

discourse over time.

Systematic qualitative analysis in DHA takes Four Layers of Context

1. Intertextual / Interdiscursive relationships

2. Extralinguistic sources /sociocultural variables

3. The history and archeology of texts and organizations

4. Institutional framework of the context of situation

Analytical Tools of DH-CDA:

An “Approach” Rather Than a “Method”.

The subject determines the analytical tools to be used. This is what I focused on:

Topic: “universal suffrage” (as keyword in media texts)

Discursive strategies (persuade how/when democratization should take place, definition of “universal suffrage”)

Linguistic means: metaphors - they can influence political and social judgments as well as develop new ideologies. How metaphors can be carried on in the discourse over time, reiterated and modified (Cameron 2010).

Texts: Various HK Government texts (English versions) and all media texts containing keyword (both Chinese and English) from a selection of ideologically differing newspapers.

The following is the chapter breakdown of my thesis, I will discuss a couple of these chapters as each as similar, but different methodologies.

Arrangement of the Study

1. “Hong Kong as metaphor”

2. Why use the DH-CDA approach

3. Methodology

4. Framers of the Discourse: Sino-British Joint Declaration (1984)/ Basic Law (1990)

5. Participants in the Discourse: The Political Divide

6. Milestones and Their Metaphors on Hong Kong’s Political Journey

7. Case Study - Green Paper of Constitutional development 2007

8. Conclusion: drawing a “metaphorical map” of the first ten years of the discourse of Hong Kong’s democratization

Chapter 4: Framers of the Discourse: The Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law

The “archaeology” of the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law (their drafting)-discussion of their drafting occurs post-1997

The Joint Declaration and the Basic Law as examples of their genres & content analysis

Intertextuality/interdiscursivity between these texts –the

Basic Law came out of the Joint Declaration.

General metaphors related to Basic Law in news texts (e.g., a creative masterpiece, a tiger’s cage, maze, a scientific document)

Chapter 5 Participants in the Discourse: The Political Divide

Bourdieu’s concept of habitus to illustrate the historical context of political parties “foundation moments” – (a few years after Tiananmen Square Incident; Founder of Democratic Party, helped Tiananmen students out of China)

Categorization analysis (Sacks); of political parties in Hong Kong-post 1997 : self-categorization through party symbols, slogans and

manifestos [relationship to China / democratization / stability & prosperity]

“Other”-categorization through how the parties address and depict their political opponents in the press [e.g. “anti-China, destabilizing Hong Kong elements”, “the opposition”, “loyalists”, “universal suffrage holy crusaders”]

Metaphors related to political parties/politicians in these categories in news texts (all genres).

Chapter 6Milestones and Their Metaphors on Hong Kong’s Political Journey

Political change is in the “light of the actual situation” (circumstances) and, “gradual and orderly progress” (time of implementation) according to the Basic Law.

For this reason this chapter has a chronological listing and description of major events related to democratization.

Metaphors related to the “actual situations” are found and tabulated under these events to see how the discussion unfolds. (“The interpretation of the Basic Law is destruction with a nuclear weapon - 2004)

Special emphasis on certain metaphors made by prominent officials and carried on through the discourse in news texts (e.g. “constitutional development is like yeast in bread” (2005), “democracy, when taken to its fullest swing, gets you a Cultural Revolution” (2007))

Chapter 7: Case Study: The 2007 Green Paper on Constitutional Development

The historical context of the Green Paper (released 11 July 2007), the aim of which was “to identify for the community a set of solutions” and “to forge a broad consensus” on models, roadmap and timetable for universal suffrage

The Green Paper as an example of its genre, The layout and its framing of contents, its method of delivery and timing of its release.

How the news media saw the consultation document in terms of metaphor. (e.g., a buffet meal, multiple choice exam, Donald Tsang as Pontius Pilot washing his hands before the crowd saying it’s “your choice’”);

The Green Paper as a summary of the previous 10-years of discourse.

The Green Paper’s metamorphosis into a report to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Decision on Hong Kong’s constitutional development in December 2007.

To Keep in Mind – in such a diverse study….

Keeping the socio-political macro closely linked to the linguistic/discourse analytical micro.

Keeping the textual, discursive and metaphorical linked.

How metaphors in the various documents reiterate themselves and are expanded/commented on and challenged to see the dynamics of metaphor in action.

Main issue is how metaphor themes are selected. Evidential reasons need for highlighting these and then a warrant for “chaining” them together.

Organizing Metaphors in the Data

Thinking of meta-metaphors under which subordinate metaphors could be subsumed (due to the large no. of metaphors found)

Consistency of metaphors (reitified, relexicalised) and novel changes in metaphors over time

Metaphors arising from external events adapted for the discussion

about universal suffrage (e.g., “the SAR’s small Brokeback Mountain – 2006 after the “gay cowboy” movie)

Categorizing metaphors which are about the current situation and which relate to future situation and ones resonating which cultural aspects of the location.  

Ultimate Classification of Metaphor – This will be in my “map-making” chapter

The following will probably be headings in which the metaphors are placed in the ultimate discourse:

Clarifying the principles and concepts relating to democracy

Values and goods of democracy

Analyzing the conditions for and consequences of democracy

Evaluation and institution building in both the present situation of Hong Kong and in the future

Reactive Reflexivity

I thought of how I “reacted” to this research in the light of my background and participation in this discourse as a Hong Kong resident.

I felt more inclined to take part in civic action. For example, since 1997 I have: Joined a political party Took part in public marches over various issues Deputation to the local Legislative Council over issues Made sure I voted in Macquarie University elections and other

elections Tutor representative for Open University of Hong Kong Senate –

Wrote many published letters to the editor of local English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post (See next slide for a recent example)

Reactive Reflexivity

South China Morning Post | 2010-11-18 EDT16| EDT Currying favour with Beijing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We now have Leung Chun-ying saying that Deng Xiaoping should have received the

Nobel Peace Prize (Deng should have been first Chinese to get Nobel Peace Prize: ExCo chief, November 13).

In September, Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen praised Mao Zedong for his book, The Thoughts of Chairman Mao.

Obviously these two gentlemen made these points to curry favour up north for their bids to be the next chief executive.

I can't see how this will appeal to the people of Hong Kong. However, since Hong Kong citizens do not have a real say in the selection for chief

executive, it is not unexpected. What really disturbs me is Mr Leung's comment about Zhao Lianhai as acting too

emotionally after his child was affected by tainted milk - as if this is a reason to put him in jail for a couple of years.

Jennifer Eagleton, Tai Po