This comparative analysis of Chinese and Taiwanese English-language press narratives about Hong Kongs handover on 1 July 1997, buttressed by a historical, sociological and political contextualization of the media accounts, shows the power of the pen, generating varying media realities about the same Hong Kong story.?
A deep dive into English medias divergent narratives of the reversion of Hong Kong to Chinese rule. Lams meticulous research contrasts Chinas monolithic view of the villain/victim framework of Sino-British relations over the entire 156 years of the colonial period with the differences and convergences within Taiwans pluralistic media, pointing out that constructed myths of national and cultural identity can be demystified only by keeping an open but critical attitude toward alternate versions of reality.? She addresses the question of the meaning of meaning as perceived by different audiences.
Dr. June Teufel Dreyer???, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Miami
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The geopolitical dynamics having hit up between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan, attention must be paid to not only what leaders on both sides of the Strait say but also the tone, nuances and subtle underpinnings of these discourses. No expert is better-placed than Lutgard Lams in revealing the inner workings and rhetorical quirks of political utterances coming from the propaganda-prone administration of the Chinese leadership, as echoed in the Chinese state media accounts. In this volume, the author returns to the late 1990s to explore the variations in perspectives about the Hong Kong handover, not only between Chinese and Taiwanese newspapers, but more importantly, between the Taiwanese media outlets. The linguistic analysis of the Taiwanese newspapers reveals the growth of a pluralist society with various positions toward issues of cultural and national identity. Bylă‰
![Narratives of the Hong Kong Sovereignty Transfer: The Pragmatics of Language and Ideology in the Taiwanese and Chinese English-Language Press [Hardcover]](/itemImage/2/8/4/2/2_7277443.jpg "Narratives of the Hong Kong Sovereignty Transfer: The Pragmatics of Language and Ideology in the Taiwanese and Chinese English-Language Press [Hardcover]")