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Communication and Class Divide in China, Vol. 19 - 2012, No. 2
Introduction to “Communication and Class Divide in China”
This introduction aims to accomplish two tasks. It first addresses the most important recent development in Chinese political communication by analysing the domestic and transnational dimensions of a multifaceted and high-stake communication war over the unfolding political drama centring on the explosive downfall of CCP Politburo member Bo Xilai and the crackdown on his “Chongqing Model” of development. It then uses this analysis as a backdrop to contextualise and introduce some of the main insights of the articles in this special issue on the one hand, and mobilises these insights to shed new light on the communication politics surrounding the Bo saga on the other. Communication, social consciousness, and class conflict over the future directions of China’s transformation during the current turbulent period of globalised informational capitalism lies at the centre of this article and the entire special issue.
