"Censor and Sensitivity: How China Handles US Embassy’s Public Diplomacy in Chinese Cyber Space" - by CWP Xiaoyu Pu

This study examines how Chinese authorities distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable diplomatic discourse within China’s cyberspace. Using computer-assisted text analysis, we analyze a unique dataset comprising US Embassy social media posts on the Chinese platform Weibo between 2010 and 2020. Our findings challenge prevailing assumptions, revealing a degree of tolerance for posts that promote Western social life, human rights, and liberal democracy. Instead, the focus of the Chinese authorities is to curtail the US Embassy’s public engagement in discussing politically sensitive topics, particularly those related to China’s regime security. We contend that a hierarchical security framework can provide a more thorough understanding of China’s information control practices. This study extends previous research on China’s information control beyond the domestic context and provides a fresh examination of China’s domestic politics and foreign policy. It also highlights the potential and limitations of foreign public diplomacy in China’s cyberspace.

Xiaoyu Pu, Chengli Wang & Yuan Zhou - Journal of Chinese Political Science (2023) - Published: 11 September 2023

Xiaoyu Pu is an associate professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is a member of the Public Intellectuals Program of the National Committee on United States-China Relations (NCUSCR). He has also received fellowships from the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington D.C., Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) in Brazil and the China and the World Program at Princeton University. He is the author of Rebranding China: Contested Status Signaling in the Changing Global Order (The Studies in Asian Security Series, Stanford University Press, 2019). His research has appeared in International Security, International Affairs, The China Quarterly, and The Chinese Journal of International Politics. He serves on the editorial boards of The Chinese Journal of International Politics (Oxford University Press) and Foreign Affairs Review (China).

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