WeChatting the Australian Election: Mandarin-Speaking Migrants and the Teaching of New Citizenship Practices

Sun, W; Yu, H

WeChatting the Australian Election: Mandarin-Speaking Migrants and the Teaching of New Citizenship Practices

Sun, W

Yu, H

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Publisher:: SAGE Publications (UK and US)
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Social Media and Society, 2020, 6, (1), pp. 1-11
Issue Date:: 2020-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Sun, W https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8687-3739
dc.contributor.author	Yu, H
dc.date.accessioned	2021-08-12T09:11:38Z
dc.date.available	2021-08-12T09:11:38Z
dc.date.issued	2020-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	Social Media and Society, 2020, 6, (1), pp. 1-11
dc.identifier.issn	2056-3051
dc.identifier.issn	2056-3051
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/150114
dc.description.abstract	© The Author(s) 2020. With the number of Mandarin-speaking migrants on the rise in Australia and the centrality of Chinese social media platforms among a large majority of this cohort, it is time that we examined the role of WeChat in political communication and citizenship education among Chinese migrants. In the lead-up to the May 2019 federal election, WeChat became a political campaigning battlefield in which candidates held live WeChat sessions with Chinese Australian voters. Despite much discussion about WeChat’s impact on Australian politics, there is little understanding of its potential educational role in citizen-making: to what extent does WeChat educate new citizens about Australia’s political system, democratic values, and electoral processes? This article uses the 2019 federal election as a prism through which to explore civic education and citizen-making in the digital space of WeChat. Drawing on online surveys, sustained digital ethnographic observation, and in-depth one-on-one interviews, we ask whether and how the work of certain individuals in this digital space engenders a new form of community leadership and a more engaged form of civic behavior. We also assess WeChat’s potential in facilitating the process of political integration for new migrants from authoritarian societies.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	SAGE Publications (UK and US)
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP180100663
dc.relation.ispartof	Social Media and Society
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1177/2056305120903441
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1902 Film, Television and Digital Media, 2001 Communication and Media Studies, 2002 Cultural Studies
dc.title	WeChatting the Australian Election: Mandarin-Speaking Migrants and the Teaching of New Citizenship Practices
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	6
utslib.for	1902 Film, Television and Digital Media
utslib.for	2001 Communication and Media Studies
utslib.for	2002 Cultural Studies
utslib.for	1902 Film, Television and Digital Media
utslib.for	2001 Communication and Media Studies
utslib.for	2002 Cultural Studies
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/Public Communication Program
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	false
dc.date.updated	2021-08-12T09:11:36Z
pubs.issue	1
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	6
utslib.citation.issue	1

Abstract:

© The Author(s) 2020. With the number of Mandarin-speaking migrants on the rise in Australia and the centrality of Chinese social media platforms among a large majority of this cohort, it is time that we examined the role of WeChat in political communication and citizenship education among Chinese migrants. In the lead-up to the May 2019 federal election, WeChat became a political campaigning battlefield in which candidates held live WeChat sessions with Chinese Australian voters. Despite much discussion about WeChat’s impact on Australian politics, there is little understanding of its potential educational role in citizen-making: to what extent does WeChat educate new citizens about Australia’s political system, democratic values, and electoral processes? This article uses the 2019 federal election as a prism through which to explore civic education and citizen-making in the digital space of WeChat. Drawing on online surveys, sustained digital ethnographic observation, and in-depth one-on-one interviews, we ask whether and how the work of certain individuals in this digital space engenders a new form of community leadership and a more engaged form of civic behavior. We also assess WeChat’s potential in facilitating the process of political integration for new migrants from authoritarian societies.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/150114