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The Case of Air Pollution China’s National Image Puzzle: The Construction of China’s Environmental Image in Le Monde by Guangfeng Chen A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in French Language, Literature and Linguistics Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies University of Alberta © Guangfeng Chen, 2017 Abstract Despite China’s central role in environmental issues on both domestic and international levels and the importance that the country attaches to its national image abroad, few studies have investigated China’s national image in the environmental domain on the international scene, and almost none in the Francophone world. With the goals of shedding light on this topic and enlarging the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) literature on French news discourses, this thesis conducts a CDA study of French news on environmental issues related to China to reflect a “western” view of China. A rigid selection process of relevant news articles from the elite French newspaper Le Monde (which was selected for its special status among French media) resulted in 24 news texts on air pollution covering 2013, 2014 and 2015, and 19 news texts on climate change covering 2009 and 2015. By adapting two analytical frameworks, Social Actor Representation (van Leeuwen, 1996) and the Appraisal Theory (Martin & White, 2005), to the analysis of French discourse, this study conducted detailed quantitative and qualitative textual analyses to these news articles. The study found that China’s image constructed in Le Monde was fluid depending on the environmental issue in question. Regarding the issue of air pollution, Le Monde has represented “China” as a domestic actor. Between 2013 and 2015, an invariably negative image of China was constructed, following a script of a dichotomy between an inactive government and a victimized population. In contrast, Le Monde’s representations of China in climate change in 2009 and in 2015 have experienced a drastic shift. In 2009, China was negatively portrayed as a country to be held most responsible in tackling climate change along with the US but who ii was passive in dealing with climate change, as an enemy to be destroyed rather than an opponent to be recognized. However, in 2015, China was represented as a supporter or promoter of climate change negotiations with positive evaluations. An examination of Le Monde’s representation of China vis-à-vis the Chinese context found that on the one hand, Le Monde’s representation of China did not appear to be about what/who China is, and on the other, it did not necessarily fit into general French or European environmental belief either. The key to a full understanding of Le Monde’s representation of China seems to lie in Le Monde’s identity, which would be revealed in interviews with the journalists and in contextual analysis of the French media, informed by communication theories and other social theories. iii Preface This thesis is an original work by Guangfeng Chen. Part of Chapter 1 of this thesis has been included in the publication: Chen, G. (2015). “Branding China to the world: China in the 2009 UN Copenhagen climate change conference.” Multilingual Discourses 2.1-2: 1-35. iv Acknowledgements It was a relatively long, often lonely, but absolutely beautiful and intellectually fulfilling “adventure.” I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Élisabeth Le, for having helped me in the preparation of the “trip,” such as drawing my map and choosing tools to equip myself, for having advised me when I was confronted with challenges and difficulties on the road, for having guided me back to the right track when I got lost, and for having encouraged me at moments when I felt depressed. Briefly, I would like to thank her for having helped me grow as an academic and person. A debt of gratitude is owed to my supervisory committee members Dr. Jennifer Dailey- O’Cain and Dr. Thomas Barker. Their expertise, patience and support were indispensable for this adventure to be successful. I would love to thank my family for their understanding, support and trust. They have always wished the best for me. And my thanks also go to Dr. Huangchao Yu, who has been the best partner ever, on the trip as well as in life. I also feel grateful for people that I met on the road. They helped me and accompanied me, making this adventure more enjoyable and colorful. Thanks to Dr. Cindy Chopoidalo for editing and proofreading this thesis. Last but not least, I would like to gratefully thank the CSC (China Scholarship Council) Scholarship and Universy of Alberta GSA Academic Travel Award, without the support of which I could not have completed this journey. This journey ends with five chapters written, and a new chapter of my life begins. v Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................ ii Preface ............................................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... v List of Tables ................................................................................................................... x List of Figures............................................................................................................... xiii Chapter 1: Introduction and Literature Review ............................................................... 1 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Focus of the Thesis ................................................................................................ 4 1.3 Literature Review .................................................................................................. 7 1.3.1 National Image in International Relations ...................................................... 7 1.3.2 China’s Image Puzzle .................................................................................... 12 1.3.3 News Media and National Image Construction ............................................ 13 1.3.4 China’s National Image and Environmental Image in Western News Media ......................................................................................................................................... 18 1.4 Research Questions .............................................................................................. 21 1.5 Significance of the Thesis .................................................................................... 24 1.6 Organization of the Thesis ................................................................................... 24 Chapter 2: Methodology ................................................................................................ 26 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 26 vi 2.2 Theoretical Framework: Critical Discourse Analysis .......................................... 26 2.2.1 Main Approaches in CDA ............................................................................. 27 2.2.2 Representation of Social Actors .................................................................... 31 2.2.3 The Appraisal Theory ................................................................................... 59 2.3 Corpus .................................................................................................................. 63 2.3.1 Corpus on China’s Air Pollution ................................................................... 65 2.3.2 Corpus on Climate Change ........................................................................... 69 2.3.3 Sampling of Texts for Individual Qualitative Analysis ................................ 74 2.4 Summary and Analysis Procedure ....................................................................... 76 Chapter 3: The Case of Air Pollution ............................................................................ 79 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 79 3.2 Quantitative Analysis: Air Pollution as an Internal Issue .................................... 79 3.2.1 An Issue That Mostly Concerns the Chinese ................................................ 80 3.2.2 An Issue in the Domain of Chinese Daily Life ............................................. 83 3.2.3 The Chinese Government and the Population as the Active and Dynamic Force ......................................................................................................................................... 87 3.2.4 The Government and the Population – Not Allies ........................................ 90 3.3 Qualitative Analysis: Inactive/Negative Government Vs. Chinese Population as Victims ................................................................................................................................ 91 3.3.1 Qualitative Analysis: Examples .................................................................... 92 vii 3.3.2 Holistic Qualitative Analysis: Inactive/Negative Government Vs. Chinese Population as Victims .................................................................................................... 109 3.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................
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