Weibo's Role in Shaping Public Opinion and Political Participation in China

Abstract: This thesis examines the role of microblogging in shaping public opinion and political participation in China with particular focus on the question of what sociopolitical implications and challenges that weibo phenomenon has brought to the Chinese society. I explore some of the prominent features of weibo for the role they plays in framing public sphere. Along with an in-depth study of two weibo cases, the results show that microblogging provide a unique platform for Chinese citizens to participate in civic engagement and to organize their collective opinions. The study also demonstrates that weibo has a significant impact on spurring social change. Further, weibo discourse encourages interaction between government and ordinary citizens, and it also changes traditional Chinese politics through enabling public political participation. However, the spread of rumors and network violence are some of the disadvantages inherent to the weibo phenomenon that should be of concern. More importantly, the analysis reveals that the initial reasons behind the weibo phenomenon were the long-term social conflicts and continuous information control by the state. Weibo certainly provides a remarkable platform for the freedom of speech but it should not be considered as a panacea for the social changes in China.