2. CDA of political media texts Background information & Context Summary and analysis of a Taiwanese media text Summary and analysis of a Chinese media text Conclusion
3. Politics and Power Politics – a struggle for power, between those who seek to assert their power and those who seek to resist it (Chilton, 2004) Political texts – represent the ideological beliefs held by a particular group (Chilton & Shaffner, 1997)
4. Political Relationship China People’s Republic of China Established in 1949 by the Communist Party of China Considers Taiwan part of its territory (One-China policy) Taiwan Republic of China Established in 1912, relocated to Taiwan in 1949 Independence / Reunification
5. Beware of the ‘Chinese culture’ pill An editorial in Taipei Times Discussing the actions of the current Taiwanese government, which is led by President Ma, in relation to the agenda set by the Chinese President Hu Jintaoregarding cross-strait relations Strategies – Resistance & Delegitimisation (Chilton & Shaffner, 1997) http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2011/10/10/203515345
6. Beware of the ‘Chinese culture’ pill President Ma Ying-jeou recently said he advocates the study of classic Chinese texts. With the presidential election just around the corner, this is a sensitive time and his announcement has caused much debate. However, the first traces of how the Ma administration uses politics to steer education and culture could be seen a long time ago. The promotion of traditional Chinese culture is only for show and the real goal behind the administration’s move is to follow Beijing’s instructions to use education and culture to subtly influence the way people think in order to change Taiwanese perceptions of a national identity and weaken their feeling of having a unique ethnic identity – thereby paving the way for China’s eventual annexation of Taiwan.
7. Beware of the ‘Chinese culture’ pill What Beijing and the Ma administration are really trying to do is copy the ‘Japanization’ promoted by the colonial Japanese government by carrying out a ‘Sinicization’ program within Taiwan to replace Taiwanese identity with Chinese identity. This is misleading people. All this talk of ‘Chinese people’ is aimed at weakening the ability of Taiwanese to tell friend from foe. What they want is to create a ‘one China’ in which people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait are part of one big family. To achieve this end, ‘Chinese culture’ has become a tool for unification and turned into a sugar-coated poison pill.
8. Unification historical necessity An op-ed in China Daily Discussing Chinese characteristics from a historical point of view in relation to modern China Strategies – Coercion & Legitimisation http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/201110/14/content_13896062.htm
9. Unification historical necessity Third, China’s perennial goal is national unification. There were short and long periods of division and fragmentation, but seeking unification whenever necessary has become China’s perennial political instinct. The enduringpolitical ideal of the ‘great unification’ was already formulated by Confucius in one of his Six Classics, Chunqiu, or the Spring and Autumn Annals. This ideal kept China recurrently unified. Unification became the indisputable political and social obligation deep in the political consciousness of the Chinese people, who exemplified time and again a persevering, never-give-up spirit to unify. Today, it is China’s turn again to unify. Modern China is all about national unification. The world could, should and would easily understand this cultural necessity for a civilization state.
10. Conclusion Ideological opinions can be expressed explicitly or implicitly Emphasising differences or establishing common interests Power relations
