1st Edition

Media, Social Mobilisation and Mass Protests in Post-colonial Hong Kong The Power of a Critical Event

By Francis L. F. Lee, Joseph M. Chan Copyright 2011
288 Pages 15 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

288 Pages 15 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

288 Pages 15 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Since 2003, Hong Kong has witnessed a series of large-scale protests which have constituted the core of a reinvigorated pro-democracy movement. What drove tens of thousands of citizens to the street on a yearly basis to protest? What were the social and organizational bases of the protest movement? How did media and public discourses affect the protests’ formation and mobilization? How did the... Read more

1. Introduction: From a Critical Event to Ritualistic Protests  2. Public Opinion on the Eve of Explosion  3. Organization, Communication, and Mobilization  4. The Reshaping of Public Discourse  5. Constructing the Call for Democracy  6. Contextual Changes and Strategic Responses  7. Development of the Movement Organization  8. The Social Bases of Continual Protests  9. Making Sense of Participation  10. The June 4 Connection 

Biography

Francis L. F. Lee is Associate Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Chinese University of Hong Kong.  Joseph M. Chan is Professor of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He also served as the Changjiang Chair Professor of Journalism at Fudan University, Shanghai.

The authors also co-edited Media and Politics in Post-handover Hong Kong (also published by Routledge, 2008).

"Lee and Chan's book represents the most serious and comprehensive scholarly effort to analyze the July 1, 2003 mass protest and its implications to date. It is a masterpiece that integrates traditional qualitative methods, like media discourse analysis, elite and focus group interviewing, with rigorous quantitative analysis." - Olivia Cheung (St. Anthony's College, University Of Oxford); St Antony's International Review 2013.

"In short, this book sheds light on the political culture of Hong Kong in its struggle for democracy and makes a significant contribution to the literature of media politics and social movements. What is particularly valuable is the rich longitudinal data collected from 2003 to 2008 through population and protest onsite surveys, media content analysis, and in-depth interviews with activists, politicians, and protestors. Scholars of social movements will find this book both inspiring and informative." - Wai-chi Chee, PhD, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Journal of International and Global Studies