An analysis of media coverages of Diaoyu islands dispute from American media and

【Abstract】In the East Asia， the dispute since early 1970s between China and Japan over Diaoyu Islands in Chinese or Senkaku Islands in Japanese has become a typical example of this irredentist arguments between nations. Viewers were bombarded with considerable continuous news report in different types of media worldwide. By critically analysing and making contrast with media coverages from the United States and Korea， this study serves to explore in depth the different attitudes and ways of American and Korean media coverages when reporting controversy dispute between states.

【Key words】media coverage； CDA discourse； language

1. Introduction

The debates over nations’ claims to territory have always been contentious and are supposed to be among the most prominent sources of conflict between states （Suganuma， 2000）. In the East Asia， the dispute since early 1970s between China and Japan over a tiny group of islands， known as the Diaoyu Islands in Chinese or Senkaku Islands in Japanese has become a typical example of this irredentist arguments between nations. Viewers were bombarded with considerable continuous news report in different types of media worldwide， for example， American media and Korean media. By critically analyzing and making contrast with media coverages from the United States and Korea， with the principle of two approaches of media analysis―critical discourse analysis and myth， this study serves to explore in depth the different attitudes and ways of American and Korean media coverages when reporting controversy dispute between states.

2. Methodology

Three different sources of different genres―news stories and columns concerning this dispute including the American and Korean will be analyzed using theoretical framework critical discourse analysis and myth. According to Fairclough （1995， 1989）， “critical discourse analysis” （CDA） is a way of defining discourse as “a form of social practice”. He also argued that all linguistic usage encodes ideological inclinations （Fairclough， 1992）. Besides， another contributor of CDA approach Van Dijk（1998） asserted that ideologies moulded the basis of the social representations and practices of group members， their discourse in turn serve as the means of ideological production， reproduction and challenge. Additionally， the approach Myth will be used to analyze pictures. In Roland Barthes’s book Mythologies， he gives a definition： “myth is a system of communication， that it is a message. It is a mode of signification， a form”（Barthes， 1972， p.109）. He also suggests that as a type of communication， mythology can be served as the study of semiology.

3. Analysis

The first news report is taken from the Christian Science Monitor， an American independent international news organization. On the 5th of March in 2013， it has been 4 months since the dispute over the“nationalize”of Diaoyu island， Peter Ford， a staff writer posted an article as a comment on this unresolved issue. The first paragraph as follows： “Japan and China remain deadlocked in a potentially disastrous game of chicken over their rival territorial claims”（Ford， 2013）. Peter termed the dispute as a disastrous game of chicken. This use of rhetorical figure―simile is intended to emphasize the opinions of speakers and then influence the opinions represented in the models of recipients （Giles & Coupland， 1991； Scherer & Giles， 1979）. In American culture， the game of chicken， also known as the hawk-dove game is the game which most teenagers play. The principle of the game is that while each player prefers not to yield to the other， the worst possible outcome occurs when both players do not yield. This simile is used to negatively describe the unresolved dispute between China and Japan， namely， the irrational intransigence of both side and the deepening crisis. This statement involving rhetorical lexical choice is a kind of dominant media frame which Americans usually adopt to keep a neutral political stance. In the first sentence， the dispatch of Chinese military force―naval vessels， surveillance ships is described as the movement of “undermine Japan’s administration” and “China’s maritime intrusions” by the author， revealing his subjective perception that it is an insidious activity aiming at posing a great threat to Japan’s administration. The lexical choice of media language which is supposed to be nearly covert operations， is seldom fully noticed by readers because its inner meaning above the threshold of consciousness.（Butt et al. 2004： 270）. This covert operations， can be employed to exert the desired influence on public opinion even to have a political effect. The use of these word bearing a negative property implies that China plays a role of invader whose behaviour is violent and threatening. Intrusion does not merely indicate a violent act， but also an illegal and unwelcomed entry. It’s not difficult to find that the author highlights the massive and illegal possessing of Chinese maritime force and indicate the victim of Japanese side. Consequently， defining Chinese movement as well as mentioning Japanese attitude in this two sentences creates an ideology for the general public that this Chinese illegal act is an infringement of Japanese’s sovereignty.

However， as a different side of world， the reports from Korean media coverage is not the same as American’s. One of articles from Korea Joongang Daily will be analyzed. On the 13th of September in 2012， a bilingual column featured a detailed introduction of Japan’s behaviour towards China for Diaoyu islands dispute and Korean for Dokdo islets issue as well as fierce comments on them. Headlined “Cards not stacked in Japan’s favor”， the author described： “At the same time， Japan has inflamed tensions with China by turning the waters around the Diaoyu islands， known in Japan as Senkaku， in the East China Sea into a conflict zone after Tokyo decided to nationalize the inhabited islands by purchasing them from so-called private owners. ”In terms of the islands’name， the author used Chinese version Diaoyu ahead of Japanese Senkaku as his first introduction of this dispute， which is a contrast of U.S. media coverage’s uninhabited rocks. It implies that Korea is prone to acknowledge the China’s sovereignty of Diaoyu islands. Moreover， when the author says “by purchasing them from so-called private owners”， he also implies that Japan’s purchase can be treated as a private purchase lacking of necessary due procedure of law. The Korean political stance is also can be reflected by the definition of Chinese maritime movement. By saying “conduct a routine monitoring of the islands”， it conveys less sentiment than U.S. version “intrusion”. Notably， from Korean perspective， it tries to justify Chinese maritime petrol and emphasize on the Japan’s illegal purchase to support Chinese. Besides， the author also adopts strategy of positive self-representation and negative other-representation as an effective device in persuasion and justification. Thus， the author’s discourse becomes more ideologically explicit so as to influence the recipients.

Based on the analysis above about this dispute， it can be concluded that the American media tended to adopt some rhetorical figures and quotation marks to keep news factual and authentic（but the inclination is still can be reflected） whereas Korean media made fierce comments on Japanese role played not only in Diaoyu dispute but also Dokdo islets tension. The reason why these two countries’s media coverage hold different ways and attitudes lies in their different political ideological orientation. Chilton （2004， p.14） asserts that “politics is very largely the use of language.”In spite of the “maximum freedom from government control and commercialization” （Whitten-Woodring & James 2012， p.116） American media enjoys， it would like to show its objectiveness and justification in news report. It is concluded that such an criticized opinion （the discourse expressing it） as contextually and politically based is to support one’s claims（van Dijk， 1983）.

4. Conclusion

A close examination of two news reports concerning Diaoyu islands dispute from the American media and Chines media under the approach of critical discourse analysis including major strategies of positive self-presentation and negative other-presentation. Lexicalization and rhetorical figures and mythologies revealed that two countries’ media different attitudes and ways presented are based on the crucial role of their distinct political discourse and its product―ideological orientation. Exploring the ideological operations hidden within media coverages enables us to understand the interests of power that they serve. However， it has not been possible to cover all the aspects and latest research， so further examination of the complicated and persuasive representations of media sources will need to be conducted in future.

⒖嘉南祝

[1]Barthes，R.（1993）.Mythologies.Random House.

[2]Chilton，P.（2004）.Analysing political discourse：Theory and practice.Routledge.