CHINA's EXPANDING CULTURAL
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations Dissertations and Theses October 2018 CHINA’s EXPANDING CULTURAL INFLUENCE IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE CHINESE MEDIA IN KENYA Hui-Ping Tao University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2 Part of the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation Tao, Hui-Ping, "CHINA’s EXPANDING CULTURAL INFLUENCE IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE CHINESE MEDIA IN KENYA" (2018). Doctoral Dissertations. 1410. https://doi.org/10.7275/12667556 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/1410 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CHINA’S EXPANDING CULTURAL INFLUENCE IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE CHINESE MEDIA IN KENYA A Dissertation Presented by HUI-PING TAO Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY September 2018 Department of Communication © Copyright by Hui-Ping Tao 2018 All Rights Reserved CHINA’S EXPANDING CULTURAL INFLUENCE IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE CHINESE MEDIA IN KENYA A Dissertation Presented by HUI-PING TAO Approved as to style and content by: _________________________________________________ Briankle G. Chang, Chair _________________________________________________ Henry Geddes, Member _________________________________________________ Enhua Zhang, Member ____________________________ Mari Castañeda, Department Head Communication DEDICATION To my loving parents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not be complete without the significant supports of many people and organizations. I owe a great deal of gratitude for their help during this journey. I would like to express my deepest and sincere appreciation to my advisor and committee chair, Dr. Briankle G. Chang, for his great support, guidance, inspiration, and patience through my doctoral student years. Briankle, your encouragement is one of the most important sources that have motivated me to finish. I would also like to extend gratitude to the members of my dissertation committee- Dr. Henry Geddes and Dr. Enhua Zhang, for their assistance and support on this dissertation. Dr. Henry Geddes has generously shared his knowledge with me. His suggestions helped me crystalize my ideas. Dr. Enhua Zhang is appreciated for her comments. I am very grateful for Dr. Zhang’s suggestion about the data selection. Her thoughts on the new media in China illuminate me on my continued study. The words and time they have given me have been invaluable in helping me see beyond my dissertation. I would also like to give my most whole-hearted thanks to Dr. Peter Kareithi for his unending support and advice throughout the often-stressful process of dissertation writing, as well as his support in helping me through graduate school. Peter, I can’t thank you enough for guiding me through this entire process. I am so very grateful for you taking me under your wing and teaching me what I needed to know when I needed to know it. My sincere appreciation also goes to the Department of Communication at The v University of Massachusetts, for giving me this great opportunity to pursue my studies. During the years I studied in the Communication Department, I met so many kind and knowledgeable professors, who led me here, graduating with a doctoral degree. Special thank goes to Kathleen Ready, the most wonderful Graduate Program Secretary I have ever met. She consistently goes above and beyond to help her students and it is greatly appreciated. My family has given me a tremendous amount of support on this journey. My sisters, brother-in-laws, nephew, and nieces, provided me with a home and financial support while I was studying in the U.S.A. My parents and my siblings always provided endless encouragement, support, and a strong belief in me. Without their unconditional love, this study would not have been possible. To them I dedicate this dissertation. vi ABSTRACT CHINA’s EXPANDING CULTURAL INFLUENCE IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE CHINESE MEDIA IN KENYA SEPTEMBER 2018 HUI-PING TAO, B.A., PENN STATE UNIVERSITY M.A., PENN STATE UNIVERSITY Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Briankle G. Chang This dissertation seeks to demonstrate China’s growing cultural influence in African countries and illustrates how China attempts to use its economic power and cultural influences to shape African countries’ foreign policies towards China by using the Chinese media and cultural expansion in Kenya as a case study. In order to achieve this objective, this study examines the internal and external economic and political forces in both China and Kenya that have helped to establish the current pattern of China’s media involvement and other cultural engagements in Kenya. This study also explores the extent and nature of China’s cultural and media involvement in Africa with a specific focus on Kenya; penetration of Chinese news and other cultural productions in Kenya was examined. This study analyzed the response of Kenyan media to China’s recent engagement with the country, especially China’s increasingly involvement in media and other cultural production in the country. China’s growing presence in Africa has provoked a heated debate about the nature of Chinese engagement and its implication for the African continent. Critics argue that China is using its power to develop a neo-colonial system in Africa. Rather than direct vii political control of African countries, China operates behind closed doors to influence African countries’ foreign policies toward China. Despite criticism of colonialism, some observers perceive current Sino-African relations as a partnership for development. Both China and African countries are gaining significant benefits from this relationship. After analyzed two leading Kenyan newspapers’ coverage of China’s involvement in Kenya, this study found that both newspapers’ representations of China are natural; unlike Western media’s negative views of Chinese presence or China’s positive self portrait. However, Kenyan media’s framing of China’s engagement in the country should not be viewed as stagnant because China-Kenya interactions are rapidly evolving. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................v ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................1 Introduction……......................................................................................................1 Research Objectives……..……………….…………………………………..........2 Methodological Framework……..………………………………………………...5 Selection of Media Texts……………………….…..…………………………......7 Related Literature………………………………………..………………………..9 Significance of the Study………………………………...……………..………..13 Plan of the Study……………………..…………………………..………………14 2: TRANSFORMATION OF THE CHINESE MEDIA….……………..…………….....16 Chairman Mao Era……………………………....……………….........................16 The Chinese Media Under the Reform…………………………………………..18 Media Development between 1978 and 1989………………………….………...20 Media Development between 1992 and 2000s……………………….………….29 Global Expansion…………………….…………..……………………...……….36 3: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CHINA’S ENGAGEMENTS IN AFRICA… ….44 Early Sino-African Encounters………..…………………………........................44 Sino-African Relations between 1949 and 1978…………………………...........46 Sino-African Relations between 1978 and 1989………………………………...48 Post-Cold War Sino-African Relations………………………..…………...….....53 Sino-African Relations in the 21st Century……………………..………………..56 Cultural Cooperation…………………………..……………………………..…..62 The Confucius Institutes in Africa…………………………………..………..….64 Media Cooperation………………………………..………………………...…....68 Chinese Media in Africa.…………….………………………..………………....73 The Challenges of Chinese Media in Africa ……………………………...….….79 Chinese Telecommunication Sector in Africa...……………………..…………..81 ix 4: CHINA’S GROWING CULTURAL INFLUENCE IN KENYA………………...…..87 Brief History of Sino-Kenyan Relations…………..………………………..……90 President Jomo Kenyatta Era: 1963-1978……………………………..…………91 President Daniel Moi Era: 1978-2002…………………………..……...………..93 President Mwai Kibaki Era: 2002-2013……………………….………………...94 Penetration of Chinese Media and Cultural Productions in Kenya………….....102 The Confucius Institutes in Kenya………………..…………………………….125 5: MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF CHINA IN KENYAN MEDIA..…………….... 129 The Images of China…………………………………………………………....131 Perceptions of China in Africa………………………………………………….131 Media Development in Kenya………………….....…………………………....133 The Political Economy of Kenyan Media…………………..……..…………....149 News Framing of China’s Involvement in Africa………………………..……..151 Methodology………………...…..……………………………………………...152 Sample Collection………………………………………………………………153 News Framing of the Chinese Presence in Kenya………..……………..….......155 Representation of China in the Kenyan Newspapers…………………………...161 6: CONCLUSION.…………………………………….………….……………..……...166