SMS in China: A Major Carrier of the Nonofficial Discourse Universe

From Being a Problem to Having Problems: Discourse, Governmentality and Chinese Migrant Workers

“…The result is a diversification of both media structures and media discourses and the development of a pluralistic public sphere in which alternative discourses can exist alongside propaganda [36,62]. Scholars have argued that online media are less controlled than print media ( [35], 684-688) and identified the emergence of alternative discourses in media such as SMS [26], blogs [16] and microblogs ( [25] author removed a). However, the development of investigative journalism demonstrates that alternative discourses are not confined to online media, but can also be found in print media such as commercial newspapers [23,45].…”

Beijing Calling... Mobile Communication in Contemporary China

“…Our respondents seem to have been able not only to survive in these processes but also to increase their social capital (Ling et al 2003;Fortunati 2007) and their traditional guanxi. The social empowerment that these people experience through the mobile phone is undeniable, and from this point of view, the mobile phone is a "technology of freedom" (de Sola Pool 1988) that, He (2005) argued, may even contribute to the expansion of democracy. At the same time, the mobile phone can do little to hinder the social stratification that is reshaping Chinese society.…”

Cyberactivism and Collective Agency: Cases from China

“…The cyberspace in China, albeit censored, seems to produce a type of public discourse characterized by subdued satire, dark humor underlined by suppressed discontent. This online discourse is an extension of the "nonofficial discourse universe" carried on short messaging services (SMS) [21]. Similar to SMS practices that are disorderly, disposable, and ephemeral [22], public discourses constitute an alternative form of media to the top-down, durable and purposeful traditional Chinese media.…”

“…In face of the abuse of power, social inequality and institutionalized injustice, many people express their discontent through satire and subtle critique. The remarks are often not directly subversive to the political regime, but constitute a moderate form of cultural and ideological challenge to existing social conditions, contributing to increasingly pluralistic political undercurrents that defy the discursive hegemony of the Communist Party [21].…”