Zhifan Luo | McMaster University (original) (raw)
Papers by Zhifan Luo
Journal of Political Power, 2024
This article proposes the 'second face of censorship', emphasizing how states use censorial insti... more This article proposes the 'second face of censorship', emphasizing how states use censorial institutions to reinforce their value system and moral authority. It argues that censorship involves an interactive power dynamic between state censors and society, posing the question of legitimacy in censorial power dynamics, which is crucial for authoritarian resilience. To investigate this interactive process and the possibility of legitimacy, this article conducted a case study of public reactions to the takedown of a drama series in China. It examines how public sentiment and state responses intertwined in censorial practice, revealing the construction of descriptive legitimacy through negotiation.
Sociological Inquiry, 2024
Despite the recent surge in scholarly attention to anti-Asian racism, what is largely missing in ... more Despite the recent surge in scholarly attention to anti-Asian racism, what is largely missing in this growing body of literature is a bridge connecting studies on this subject to the broader field of race and ethnicity studies. In this special issue, we propose to use the concept of transculturality, which is defined as the process of cultural interaction, interpenetration, and hybridization that transcends the traditional borders of individual cultures, to establish this connection. In this introductory article, we first critically review the concepts of culture, interculturality, and multiculturality in the studies of race and ethnicity. Upon this review, we explain how transculturality advances the knowledge of racial and ethnic identity, ideas, and practices. This introduction concludes with an overview of each contribution, setting the stage for a comprehensive exploration of this complex and multifaceted issue. Collectively, this special issue aims to not only provide theoretical and empirical insights into the transculturality of anti-Asian racism but also build a bridge between the studies of the Asian diaspora and the general research on race and ethnicity.
Information, Communication & Society, 2021
The divides between social groups in American society today extend from political opinion to life... more The divides between social groups in American society today extend from political opinion to lifestyle and emotions. A less explored area, however, is how these divides relate to potential divides in morality. The Habermasian conceptualization of the public sphere prioritizes deliberative reasoning as a way to solve moral conflicts. In contrast, this study argues that divides in reasoning and opinion are associated with divides in morality. To make the argument, this study focuses on the case of public debates over whether social media companies should deplatform Trump and his supporters in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection. Public comments were obtained from a dataset compiled and released by Facebook Oversight Board. First, I used structural topic modeling to identify the reasoning and used the dictionary based on the Moral Foundations Theory to gauge moral foundations in each document. Then, I used statistical analysis to examine whether there was a correlation between specific reasoning and moral foundations. The results show that the pro- and anti-deplatforming camps in the debate are divided not only in reasoning, but also in morality. Supporters of deplatforming argue that it would fulfill tech companies' public responsibility, and protect society at large. These arguments are correlated with the care foundation. In contrast, opponents argue that deplatforming Trump violated freedom of speech. This argument is correlated with the fairness, loyalty, and authority foundations, but not the care foundation. The findings support my argument that divides in reasoning should be analyzed with consideration of morality.
China: An International Journal
How were the post-Deng educational activities tied toand different fromthe rectification campaign... more How were the post-Deng educational activities tied toand different fromthe rectification campaigns in the earlier periods? What does this mean for the future of intra-Party governance in China? Through a comparison of rectification campaigns in the 1940s-1980s and intra-Party 'educational activities' thereafter, the author concluded that the campaign method had been institutionalized as an integral instrument of intra-Party governance, forging a three-stage procedure to fulfil the dual aims of education and deterrence. Consequently, the Chinese Communist Party discarded extreme sanctions in the post-Deng era but reinforced authoritative and distributive power through lesser forms of sanctions.
Armed Forces & Society, 2020
After decades of military reform, how does the Chinese military justify its persistent role in po... more After decades of military reform, how does the Chinese military justify its persistent role in politics and social life? This mixed-methods study examines the discursive strategies used by military deputies to understand how a semi-professional military speak to its relations to the Party, its own organizational missions and goals, and potential conflicts between them. Computer-assisted text analysis is combined with targeted deep reading to identify and examine latent topics in comments made by military deputies between 2001 and 2017. The findings show that the military deputies simultaneously mobilize a political discourse and a discourse of professionalism. This duality of discourse constitutes a source of legitimacy for the military’s pursuit of corporate interests.
The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Research Methods, 2nd Edition, 2022
This chapter aims to depict a practical roadmap for scholars who are interested in incorporating ... more This chapter aims to depict a practical roadmap for scholars who are interested in incorporating Weibo into their research. It offers a basic guide on how to navigate the research cycle from design to data collection, analysis, and interpretation. We first introduce Weibo as a distinct media platform in the global context and illustrate the rationales underlying why it is worth researching. We then review the major topics and the mainstream methodological approaches in studies using Weibo data. This is followed by a discussion of the challenges and limitations a researcher should consider when studying Weibo, as well as ways to navigate them. The chapter closes with a mixed-methods case study that uses Weibo data to explore gender inequality in the Chinese public sphere. This case study serves to illustrate one of several ways to collect, analyze, and interpret Weibo data.
New Media & Society, 2022
Following a burgeoning literature on private actors under digital authoritarianism, this study ai... more Following a burgeoning literature on private actors under digital authoritarianism, this study aims to understand the role played by social media users in sustaining authoritarian rule. It examines a subcultural community--the queer-fantasy community--on Chinese social media to expound how members in this community interpreted China's censorship policy, interacted based on the interpretation, and participated in censorship. Integrating structural topic modeling and emergent coding, this study finds that a political environment of uncertainty fostered divergent imaginaries about censorship. These imaginaries encouraged participatory censorship within the online community, which strengthened the political control of the Internet in the absence of the state. This study illuminates how participatory censorship works, especially in non-professional and nonpolitically mobilized online communities. With a focus on social media users, it also offers a lens for future research to compare peer-based surveillance and content moderation in authoritarian and democratic contexts.
Information, Communication & Society, 2022
The divides between social groups in American society today extend from political opinion to life... more The divides between social groups in American society today extend from political opinion to lifestyle and emotions. A less explored area, however, is how these divides relate to potential divides in morality. The Habermasian conceptualization of the public sphere prioritizes deliberative reasoning as a way to solve moral conflicts. In contrast, this study argues that divides in reasoning and opinion are associated with divides in morality. To make the argument, this study focuses on the case of public debates over whether social media companies should deplatform Trump and his supporters in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection. Public comments were obtained from a dataset compiled and released by Facebook Oversight Board. First, I used structural topic modeling to identify the reasoning and used the dictionary based on the Moral Foundations Theory to gauge moral foundations in each document. Then, I used statistical analysis to examine whether there was a correlation between specific reasoning and moral foundations. The results show that the pro-and anti-deplatforming camps in the debate are divided not only in reasoning, but also in morality. Supporters of deplatforming argue that it would fulfill tech companies' public responsibility, and protect society at large. These arguments are correlated with the care foundation. In contrast, opponents argue that deplatforming Trump violated freedom of speech. This argument is correlated with the fairness, loyalty, and authority foundations, but not the care foundation. The findings support my argument that divides in reasoning should be analyzed with consideration of morality.
Global Health Promotion, 2021
The prevalence of health misinformation on social media could significantly influence individuals... more The prevalence of health misinformation on social media could significantly influence individuals’ health behaviors. To examine the prevalent topics, propagation, and correction of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) misinformation, automated content analyses were conducted for posts on Sina Weibo, which is China’s largest microblogging site. In total, 177,816 posts related to COVID-19 misinformation during the COVID-19 outbreak in China were analyzed. The structural topic modeling identified 23 valid topics regarding COVID-19 misinformation and its correction, which were further categorized into three general themes. Sentiment analysis was conducted to generate positive and negative sentiment scores for each post. The zero-inflated Poisson model indicated that only the negative sentiment was a significant predictor of the number of comments (β = 0.003, p < 0.001) but not reposts. Furthermore, users are more prone to repost and comment on information regarding prevention/treatmen...
China: An International Journal, 2021
How were the post-Deng educational activities tied toand different fromthe rectification campaign... more How were the post-Deng educational activities tied toand different fromthe rectification campaigns in the earlier periods? What does this mean for the future of intra-Party governance in China? Through a comparison of rectification campaigns in the 1940s-1980s and intra-Party 'educational activities' thereafter, the author concluded that the campaign method had been institutionalized as an integral instrument of intra-Party governance, forging a three-stage procedure to fulfil the dual aims of education and deterrence. Consequently, the Chinese Communist Party discarded extreme sanctions in the post-Deng era but reinforced authoritative and distributive power through lesser forms of sanctions.
Armed Forces & Society, 2020
After decades of military reform, how does the Chinese military justify its persistent role in po... more After decades of military reform, how does the Chinese military justify its persistent role in politics and social life? This mixed-methods study examines the discursive strategies used by military deputies to understand how a semi-professional military speak to its relations to the Party, its own organizational missions and goals, and potential conflicts between them. Computer-assisted text analysis is combined with targeted deep reading to identify and examine latent topics in comments made by military deputies between 2001 and 2017. The findings show that the military deputies simultaneously mobilize a political discourse and a discourse of professionalism. This duality of discourse constitutes a source of legitimacy for the military's pursuit of corporate interests.
Journal of World-Systems Research, 2019
In recent years China has positioned itself as a global economic leader, working through its "Bel... more In recent years China has positioned itself as a global economic leader, working through its "Belt and Road" initiative (BRI) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), to not only expand its global economic reach, but to organize and lead global economic relations. China's rise is largely understood in economic terms, but the history of global power dynamics suggests that such leadership is built on both economic and political-military foundations. This paper explores the structural relationship between China's economic and political-military relationships with other states over the period 1993 to 2015. Drawing on a wide variety of data sources, we present a multi-dimensional analysis that measures the changing size of China's economic and political-military networks, their shifting regional distribution, and the degree of coupling, or decoupling of economic ties from political-military ties. In describing these patterns, we conduct a similar analysis for the United States. This allows us to situate Chinese trends in the context of the structures of U.S. global power. Our analysis points to ways in which China's global rise has been shaped through navigating U.S. global power. Our analysis also shows that China's growing leadership in the global economy builds upon a set of existing political-military relationships that, while their scope and form are quite different from those that the United States built to support its hegemonic ascendency, are nevertheless critical for understanding the mechanisms by which Chinese power and influence has grown in the global political economy.
Journal of World-Systems Research, 2017
The decline of a hegemon can create openings for lesser powers to expand their influence in the w... more The decline of a hegemon can create openings for lesser powers to expand their influence in the world-system. Is this what China is currently attempting to do? This paper contributes to this ongoing debate by examining China's arms transfer activities from a historical perspective. Using data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute arms transfer database and the World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers database, I argue that the Chinese arms transfer regime has evolved through three phases. In Phase One, China used gifts of arms to compete with the Soviet Union and to expand influence among Third World countries. In Phase Two, China used arms exports mainly to assist national developmental projects. Only evidence in Phase Three supports the emergence of a global strategy that attempts to extend China's economic, political, and possibly military outreach. This paper suggests that though China has not yet become a contender for world hegemony as Arrighi argues (2007), China has formulated a globally-focused agenda which, in the medium-term, could extend its influence in regions where U.S. domination is relatively weak.
Drafts by Zhifan Luo
The body of literature on underrepresentation and gender inequality is vast. However, despite its... more The body of literature on underrepresentation and gender inequality is vast. However, despite its potential to perpetuate gender stereotypes, the overrepresentation of women in media has received inadequate attention. This study explores how traditional news media and social media overrepresent females as drivers when discussing traffic accidents, and whether social media could be the 'new equalizer' for gender. Focusing on China, we collected 97,120 posts from Weibo, China's largest microblogging site, and 11,290 newspaper articles dated between January 2010 and November 2018. We analyzed the data through a mixed-methods design and found that female drivers are overrepresented in discussions of traffic accidents, in both newspapers and on Weibo. While the gender bias against female drivers is more prevalent on Weibo than in newspapers, Weibo has provided a platform for gender-aware discussion. Our study closes by offering suggestions for cross-platform and cross-cultural comparisons of gender representation in the digital age.
Journal of Political Power, 2024
This article proposes the 'second face of censorship', emphasizing how states use censorial insti... more This article proposes the 'second face of censorship', emphasizing how states use censorial institutions to reinforce their value system and moral authority. It argues that censorship involves an interactive power dynamic between state censors and society, posing the question of legitimacy in censorial power dynamics, which is crucial for authoritarian resilience. To investigate this interactive process and the possibility of legitimacy, this article conducted a case study of public reactions to the takedown of a drama series in China. It examines how public sentiment and state responses intertwined in censorial practice, revealing the construction of descriptive legitimacy through negotiation.
Sociological Inquiry, 2024
Despite the recent surge in scholarly attention to anti-Asian racism, what is largely missing in ... more Despite the recent surge in scholarly attention to anti-Asian racism, what is largely missing in this growing body of literature is a bridge connecting studies on this subject to the broader field of race and ethnicity studies. In this special issue, we propose to use the concept of transculturality, which is defined as the process of cultural interaction, interpenetration, and hybridization that transcends the traditional borders of individual cultures, to establish this connection. In this introductory article, we first critically review the concepts of culture, interculturality, and multiculturality in the studies of race and ethnicity. Upon this review, we explain how transculturality advances the knowledge of racial and ethnic identity, ideas, and practices. This introduction concludes with an overview of each contribution, setting the stage for a comprehensive exploration of this complex and multifaceted issue. Collectively, this special issue aims to not only provide theoretical and empirical insights into the transculturality of anti-Asian racism but also build a bridge between the studies of the Asian diaspora and the general research on race and ethnicity.
Information, Communication & Society, 2021
The divides between social groups in American society today extend from political opinion to life... more The divides between social groups in American society today extend from political opinion to lifestyle and emotions. A less explored area, however, is how these divides relate to potential divides in morality. The Habermasian conceptualization of the public sphere prioritizes deliberative reasoning as a way to solve moral conflicts. In contrast, this study argues that divides in reasoning and opinion are associated with divides in morality. To make the argument, this study focuses on the case of public debates over whether social media companies should deplatform Trump and his supporters in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection. Public comments were obtained from a dataset compiled and released by Facebook Oversight Board. First, I used structural topic modeling to identify the reasoning and used the dictionary based on the Moral Foundations Theory to gauge moral foundations in each document. Then, I used statistical analysis to examine whether there was a correlation between specific reasoning and moral foundations. The results show that the pro- and anti-deplatforming camps in the debate are divided not only in reasoning, but also in morality. Supporters of deplatforming argue that it would fulfill tech companies' public responsibility, and protect society at large. These arguments are correlated with the care foundation. In contrast, opponents argue that deplatforming Trump violated freedom of speech. This argument is correlated with the fairness, loyalty, and authority foundations, but not the care foundation. The findings support my argument that divides in reasoning should be analyzed with consideration of morality.
China: An International Journal
How were the post-Deng educational activities tied toand different fromthe rectification campaign... more How were the post-Deng educational activities tied toand different fromthe rectification campaigns in the earlier periods? What does this mean for the future of intra-Party governance in China? Through a comparison of rectification campaigns in the 1940s-1980s and intra-Party 'educational activities' thereafter, the author concluded that the campaign method had been institutionalized as an integral instrument of intra-Party governance, forging a three-stage procedure to fulfil the dual aims of education and deterrence. Consequently, the Chinese Communist Party discarded extreme sanctions in the post-Deng era but reinforced authoritative and distributive power through lesser forms of sanctions.
Armed Forces & Society, 2020
After decades of military reform, how does the Chinese military justify its persistent role in po... more After decades of military reform, how does the Chinese military justify its persistent role in politics and social life? This mixed-methods study examines the discursive strategies used by military deputies to understand how a semi-professional military speak to its relations to the Party, its own organizational missions and goals, and potential conflicts between them. Computer-assisted text analysis is combined with targeted deep reading to identify and examine latent topics in comments made by military deputies between 2001 and 2017. The findings show that the military deputies simultaneously mobilize a political discourse and a discourse of professionalism. This duality of discourse constitutes a source of legitimacy for the military’s pursuit of corporate interests.
The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Research Methods, 2nd Edition, 2022
This chapter aims to depict a practical roadmap for scholars who are interested in incorporating ... more This chapter aims to depict a practical roadmap for scholars who are interested in incorporating Weibo into their research. It offers a basic guide on how to navigate the research cycle from design to data collection, analysis, and interpretation. We first introduce Weibo as a distinct media platform in the global context and illustrate the rationales underlying why it is worth researching. We then review the major topics and the mainstream methodological approaches in studies using Weibo data. This is followed by a discussion of the challenges and limitations a researcher should consider when studying Weibo, as well as ways to navigate them. The chapter closes with a mixed-methods case study that uses Weibo data to explore gender inequality in the Chinese public sphere. This case study serves to illustrate one of several ways to collect, analyze, and interpret Weibo data.
New Media & Society, 2022
Following a burgeoning literature on private actors under digital authoritarianism, this study ai... more Following a burgeoning literature on private actors under digital authoritarianism, this study aims to understand the role played by social media users in sustaining authoritarian rule. It examines a subcultural community--the queer-fantasy community--on Chinese social media to expound how members in this community interpreted China's censorship policy, interacted based on the interpretation, and participated in censorship. Integrating structural topic modeling and emergent coding, this study finds that a political environment of uncertainty fostered divergent imaginaries about censorship. These imaginaries encouraged participatory censorship within the online community, which strengthened the political control of the Internet in the absence of the state. This study illuminates how participatory censorship works, especially in non-professional and nonpolitically mobilized online communities. With a focus on social media users, it also offers a lens for future research to compare peer-based surveillance and content moderation in authoritarian and democratic contexts.
Information, Communication & Society, 2022
The divides between social groups in American society today extend from political opinion to life... more The divides between social groups in American society today extend from political opinion to lifestyle and emotions. A less explored area, however, is how these divides relate to potential divides in morality. The Habermasian conceptualization of the public sphere prioritizes deliberative reasoning as a way to solve moral conflicts. In contrast, this study argues that divides in reasoning and opinion are associated with divides in morality. To make the argument, this study focuses on the case of public debates over whether social media companies should deplatform Trump and his supporters in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection. Public comments were obtained from a dataset compiled and released by Facebook Oversight Board. First, I used structural topic modeling to identify the reasoning and used the dictionary based on the Moral Foundations Theory to gauge moral foundations in each document. Then, I used statistical analysis to examine whether there was a correlation between specific reasoning and moral foundations. The results show that the pro-and anti-deplatforming camps in the debate are divided not only in reasoning, but also in morality. Supporters of deplatforming argue that it would fulfill tech companies' public responsibility, and protect society at large. These arguments are correlated with the care foundation. In contrast, opponents argue that deplatforming Trump violated freedom of speech. This argument is correlated with the fairness, loyalty, and authority foundations, but not the care foundation. The findings support my argument that divides in reasoning should be analyzed with consideration of morality.
Global Health Promotion, 2021
The prevalence of health misinformation on social media could significantly influence individuals... more The prevalence of health misinformation on social media could significantly influence individuals’ health behaviors. To examine the prevalent topics, propagation, and correction of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) misinformation, automated content analyses were conducted for posts on Sina Weibo, which is China’s largest microblogging site. In total, 177,816 posts related to COVID-19 misinformation during the COVID-19 outbreak in China were analyzed. The structural topic modeling identified 23 valid topics regarding COVID-19 misinformation and its correction, which were further categorized into three general themes. Sentiment analysis was conducted to generate positive and negative sentiment scores for each post. The zero-inflated Poisson model indicated that only the negative sentiment was a significant predictor of the number of comments (β = 0.003, p < 0.001) but not reposts. Furthermore, users are more prone to repost and comment on information regarding prevention/treatmen...
China: An International Journal, 2021
How were the post-Deng educational activities tied toand different fromthe rectification campaign... more How were the post-Deng educational activities tied toand different fromthe rectification campaigns in the earlier periods? What does this mean for the future of intra-Party governance in China? Through a comparison of rectification campaigns in the 1940s-1980s and intra-Party 'educational activities' thereafter, the author concluded that the campaign method had been institutionalized as an integral instrument of intra-Party governance, forging a three-stage procedure to fulfil the dual aims of education and deterrence. Consequently, the Chinese Communist Party discarded extreme sanctions in the post-Deng era but reinforced authoritative and distributive power through lesser forms of sanctions.
Armed Forces & Society, 2020
After decades of military reform, how does the Chinese military justify its persistent role in po... more After decades of military reform, how does the Chinese military justify its persistent role in politics and social life? This mixed-methods study examines the discursive strategies used by military deputies to understand how a semi-professional military speak to its relations to the Party, its own organizational missions and goals, and potential conflicts between them. Computer-assisted text analysis is combined with targeted deep reading to identify and examine latent topics in comments made by military deputies between 2001 and 2017. The findings show that the military deputies simultaneously mobilize a political discourse and a discourse of professionalism. This duality of discourse constitutes a source of legitimacy for the military's pursuit of corporate interests.
Journal of World-Systems Research, 2019
In recent years China has positioned itself as a global economic leader, working through its "Bel... more In recent years China has positioned itself as a global economic leader, working through its "Belt and Road" initiative (BRI) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), to not only expand its global economic reach, but to organize and lead global economic relations. China's rise is largely understood in economic terms, but the history of global power dynamics suggests that such leadership is built on both economic and political-military foundations. This paper explores the structural relationship between China's economic and political-military relationships with other states over the period 1993 to 2015. Drawing on a wide variety of data sources, we present a multi-dimensional analysis that measures the changing size of China's economic and political-military networks, their shifting regional distribution, and the degree of coupling, or decoupling of economic ties from political-military ties. In describing these patterns, we conduct a similar analysis for the United States. This allows us to situate Chinese trends in the context of the structures of U.S. global power. Our analysis points to ways in which China's global rise has been shaped through navigating U.S. global power. Our analysis also shows that China's growing leadership in the global economy builds upon a set of existing political-military relationships that, while their scope and form are quite different from those that the United States built to support its hegemonic ascendency, are nevertheless critical for understanding the mechanisms by which Chinese power and influence has grown in the global political economy.
Journal of World-Systems Research, 2017
The decline of a hegemon can create openings for lesser powers to expand their influence in the w... more The decline of a hegemon can create openings for lesser powers to expand their influence in the world-system. Is this what China is currently attempting to do? This paper contributes to this ongoing debate by examining China's arms transfer activities from a historical perspective. Using data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute arms transfer database and the World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers database, I argue that the Chinese arms transfer regime has evolved through three phases. In Phase One, China used gifts of arms to compete with the Soviet Union and to expand influence among Third World countries. In Phase Two, China used arms exports mainly to assist national developmental projects. Only evidence in Phase Three supports the emergence of a global strategy that attempts to extend China's economic, political, and possibly military outreach. This paper suggests that though China has not yet become a contender for world hegemony as Arrighi argues (2007), China has formulated a globally-focused agenda which, in the medium-term, could extend its influence in regions where U.S. domination is relatively weak.
The body of literature on underrepresentation and gender inequality is vast. However, despite its... more The body of literature on underrepresentation and gender inequality is vast. However, despite its potential to perpetuate gender stereotypes, the overrepresentation of women in media has received inadequate attention. This study explores how traditional news media and social media overrepresent females as drivers when discussing traffic accidents, and whether social media could be the 'new equalizer' for gender. Focusing on China, we collected 97,120 posts from Weibo, China's largest microblogging site, and 11,290 newspaper articles dated between January 2010 and November 2018. We analyzed the data through a mixed-methods design and found that female drivers are overrepresented in discussions of traffic accidents, in both newspapers and on Weibo. While the gender bias against female drivers is more prevalent on Weibo than in newspapers, Weibo has provided a platform for gender-aware discussion. Our study closes by offering suggestions for cross-platform and cross-cultural comparisons of gender representation in the digital age.