Beyond Tiananmen : media and social stability in China

Abstract

Different countries have different priorities in their development approaches. For China, the precondition to development is social stability. This paper highlights, theoretically and empirically, how development and news media are closely linked by looking at the various and indispensable roles of Chinese news media on maintaining social stability. Conceptually, this thesis mobilizes western development theories, Chinese traditional social values and the Communist ideology to account for the complexity of China's development in the reform process. Empirically, by illustrating the significance of social stability in Chinese development model, and by demonstrating the necessity of uncensored media to maintain social stability, with special emphasis on its roles in economic, political and social development, the paper concludes that an open, freer media will serve China's development goal, and suggests that more appropriate methods to use the media as a tool to maintain social stability should be sought.