¶ … American television coverage of the Hong Kong 'handover that took place in 1997. This paper focuses on the portrayal of messages in American television coverage and determines whether or not such portrayal was really needed.
Considering the opposite ends at which Communism and Democracy stand, it is worth asserting that these two forms of rule cannot be merged. In understanding Hong Kong's current political situation, we must realize that Hong Kong was ruled by Britain till June 30th 1997 and now on gaining its freedom, it is now caught up in a struggle between its desires to retain Democracy while being ruled by Communism. This is a situation that was predicted and emphasized upon by American television coverage at the 'handover' of Hong Kong in 1997. However, this coverage was not necessary; as it didn't present any relevance to the common man in the U.S., and was only material to the fact that it reinforced anti-Communist sentiments.
Introduction:
Political transitions are transformations that have the potential to influence people lives significantly. The extent to which people's lives may be affected depends on a number of factors, some of which include the intensity of situations in connection with: a particular political transformation, the potential for the transition to negatively impact neighboring regions, and the deviance from expected political norms caused by a transition. In each of these cases, there would be concern shown by industrialized/capitalist/democratic nations, as these influencing factors are ones that have the potential to significantly disturb them (democratic countries). History does not in any way fall short of examples of these factors and the concern that nations have shown towards them.
A particular example that may be presented here is the 'handover' of Hong Kong' from the United Kingdom to Beijing in 1997. This political transition was one that presented enough scope to trigger unrest in Democratic/Capitalist countries because of the fact that Hong Kong was falling into the hands of the Communists.
Amid the mixed feelings that citizens in Hong Kong had regarding their political future, there were tall promises made by political leaders at the time of the 'handover'. One in particular that can be asserted is that of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa. He said, that his government should "strike a balance between civil liberties and social stability, personal rights and social obligations, individual interests and the common good" (Mintier, 1997). However, it must be asserted that American television media was skeptical in its representation of such a 'balance'.
Though American television media made its efforts to expose the manner in which the people of Hong Kong were not under colonial rule anymore, it also carried a flavor of concern regarding future democracy in Hong Kong. This was naturally a concern because of the fact that it (Hong Kong) was being handed over to a Communist country.
Since American media, in particular the American television news, would naturally be the most useful tool for high level political objectives, it is interesting to learn about the number of broadcasts patronizing democratic norms. Certainly, democracy does support freedom of the individual, but it must also be taken into consideration whether the portrayed messages regarding the Hong Kong 'handover' were necessary or not.
Research Question:
Concerning the American Television coverage of the Honk Kong 'handover', it is worth investigating whether or not the message portrayal was really necessary or a political gimmick for it managed to create more hype and tension than what may have been required.
In considering this, it must also be asserted that it was obvious enough that there would be problems in Hong Kong's future because of the fact that they were being handed over to a Communist government and that was a well-known fact for over many decades. So, was there really enough reason to emphasize on the possibility of Hong Kong being engulfed by Communism?
Purpose of the study:
As television coverage is often used to develop the mindset of people, it is worth assessing what American television coverage aimed at doing at the time of the Hong Kong 'handover'. Though the citizens of Hong Kong were keen on reuniting with the motherland, American television coverage reported significant reservation of Hong Kong citizens regarding the 'handover'. This study aims at uncovering whether the American television coverage hoped to instill a feeling of democratic power in the minds of its people or if it aimed at warning the people in general about the possibilities the future could hold for Hong Kong and its Communist rule. In addition to this, this study aims at revealing...
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