Weak Links within a Centralized National System: Inter-Provincial Relations vis-à-vis News Coverage from 1955 to 1996

Jonathan J. H. Zhu ； Yu Huang

《The China Review An Interdisciplinary Journal on Greater China》 2卷1期 (2002/05) Pp. 149-171

摘要

The relationships among the 30 provinces in China have become increasingly important for understanding political and social developments in the nation. The issue has traditionally been addressed by political or economic analysis. The current study follows a new approach. By examining the news coverage of ＂foreign＂ provinces by 30 provincial newspapers in 1955-1956, 1975-1976, and 1995-1996, the study has found that inter-provincial news coverage has been scanty in quantity and highly concentrated in the developed areas, which suggests a low level of direct interaction among most of the provinces. On the other hand, the study has not detected any distinct regional or other factor-based groups within the national network of information exchange, which casts doubt on the often-proclaimed rise of regionalism or horizontal pluralism in China. The findings shed new light on the changing relationships between centre and locality, between localities, and between localities and individuals.