The Rule of Discourse: How Ideas and Discourses Shape China’s Zero-COVID Policy

• In Event: Political Communication in China

Abstract

How can a controversial policy be effectively implemented and sustained over an extended period? We study this research question from the perspective of discursive institutionalism, using China’s Zero-COVID policy as a case. We develop a typology that depicts China’s discursive engineering project featuring a multifaceted and adaptable nature. By analyzing all COVID-related Weibo posts published by fourteen Chinese state-led media accounts, we identify four types of political discourse that have prevailed: ideological, imperative, directive and communicative discourse. The analysis from topic modeling and error correction models confirms the existence of the discourse engineering project and highlights the role of imperative discourses in reinforcing China’s stringent COVID-19 policy, especially in the western and central China. Our findings shed light on the impact of discourses in the politics of policy maintenance, especially in a context of public health crisis where the rule of law is further weakened.

Authors

• Zijing Zhao, Tsinghua University

• Kaiping Zhang, Tsinghua University