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MEDIA and MINKAOHAN UYGHURS: REPRESENTATION, REACTION and RESISTANCE By MEDIA AND MINKAOHAN UYGHURS: REPRESENTATION, REACTION AND RESISTANCE By LIANG ZHENG B.A., University of International Relations, l999 M.A., the Communication University of China, 2007 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Journalism and Mass Communication 2011 This thesis entitled: Media and Minkaohan Uyghurs: Representation, Reaction, and Resistance written by Liang Zheng has been approved for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication Marguerite Moritz Bella Mody Nabil Echchaibi Timothy Weston James Millward Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we Find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards Of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. IRB protocol # _0609.25_ iii Abstract Zheng, Liang (Ph.D., Communication, School of Journalism and Mass Communication) Media and Minkaohan Uyghurs: Representation, Reaction and Resistance Thesis directed by Professor Marguerite J. Moritz Chinese media have seen a grand transformation since the 1980s. However, the relationship between Chinese media and its 56 ethnic minority groups is under- researched. This dissertation intends to contribute to this field by examining media and in the context of the Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people who reside in China’s far west Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Uyghurs number nine million, and consequently this research focuses on a sub-group of them: Minkaohan, who are ethnic Uyghurs who have attended Mandarin-language schools. This dissertation examines the post 9/11 representation of Uyghurs in Chinese state media and shows how Minkaoahan react to these portrayals. By examining Minkaohan, we can better understand the degree to which Chinese media depicts or disregards complexity in its representations of Uyghurs and the meaning-making practices of Minkaohan. This dissertation also studies how Han Chinese in Xinjiang perceive Uyghurs in relation to media. Based on a content analysis on four state newspapers and 38 in-depth interviews, this dissertation finds that Uyghurs are represented in China’s state media in a partial and biased way. The content analysis identifies an important shift in Uyghur representation after 9/11, corresponding to an increase in negative depictions of Uyghurs as more related to terrorism and a greater threat to China. iv The in-depth interviews reveal that the state media frames are contested by both Uyghur and Han audiences. Minkaohan, as much as they consume state media content, reject the state-produced Uyghur representations. With the Internet, Minkaohan build a set of frames that are in direct competition with the dominant constructs. With regard to Han Chinese audiences, they reject state-media representation of Uyghurs too and refuse to endorse the state produced “terrorism” frame. This study of media and audience frames demonstrates the necessity of examining both media and audience frames in framing analysis, especially in an authoritarian context. v Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ............................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ........................................................................................................... vii Preface ........................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter I: Uyghurs and Chinese Media: Historical Context .......................... 11 1. Early History ......................................................................................................................... 13 2. Republic of China (ROC) ....................................................................................................... 14 3. Chairman Mao’s China ......................................................................................................... 15 4. The Reform Era ..................................................................................................................... 17 5. The Internet ........................................................................................................................... 22 6. Media in Xinjiang .................................................................................................................. 28 7. Who Are Uyghurs .................................................................................................................. 32 8. Uyghurs in Cultural China ................................................................................................... 34 9. Uyghurs in Diaspora ............................................................................................................. 41 10. Uyghurs and Global Islam .................................................................................................. 43 11. Who are Minkaohan and why study Minkaohan .............................................................. 46 12. Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 49 Chapter II: Literature Review ............................................................................... 52 1. State Propaganda in China .................................................................................................. 53 1.1 Domestic Propaganda ................................................................................................... 54 1.2 External Propaganda .................................................................................................... 58 2. Audience Resistance .............................................................................................................. 61 3. Ethnicity and Media .............................................................................................................. 65 4. Media Effects Theory ............................................................................................................ 68 5. Representation of Uyghurs ................................................................................................... 74 6.Western Theories and Chinese Context ................................................................................ 79 Chapter III: Methodology ........................................................................................ 84 1. Quantitative content analysis .............................................................................................. 84 1.1 Sampling ........................................................................................................................ 85 1.2 Data Collection .................................................................................................................... 86 1.3 Analysis Plan ................................................................................................................. 88 2. In-depth Interviews ............................................................................................................... 88 2.1 Interview Subject (Sampling) ....................................................................................... 89 2.2 Data Collection .............................................................................................................. 91 Chapter IV: Content Analysis Findings: The Representation Of Uyghurs In State Newspapers ...................................................................................................... 99 1. Research Questions and Hypothesis .................................................................................... 99 2. Sample ................................................................................................................................. 103 2.1 Reliability Testing ....................................................................................................... 104 3. Findings: .............................................................................................................................. 105 3.1 Amount of Coverage ..................................................................................................... 105 3.2 Central Themes ............................................................................................................ 106 3.3 Quotes and Gender ...................................................................................................... 111 vi 3.4 Locations ...................................................................................................................... 112 3.5 Comparisons ................................................................................................................ 113 4. Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 114 Chapter V: Audience Interview Findings: Reaction and Resistance .......... 121 1. Minkaohan Reaction to State Media .................................................................................. 122 1.1 Media Usage of Minkaohan Uyghurs ......................................................................... 123 1.2 Representation of Uyghur in state media ................................................................... 127 1.3 Media and
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