Ideological framing in Taiwanese media: Analyzing editorial responses to COVID-19 incidents

Keng, Jillian Philippe

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129217 Copy

Description

Title

Ideological framing in Taiwanese media: Analyzing editorial responses to COVID-19 incidents

Author(s)

Keng, Jillian Philippe

Issue Date

2025-04-17

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

• Bhatt, Rakesh M
• Sadler, Randall W

Department of Study

Linguistics

Discipline

Teaching of English Sec Lang

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.A.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)
• Media Framing
• Ideological Bias
• Political Discourse
• Newspaper Discourse
• Taiwanese Newspapers
• COVID-19

Abstract

This study critically analyzes the editorials of two Taiwanese newspapers, the China Times and the Taipei Times, regarding their portrayal of three incidents that occurred during COVID-19, which led to domestic political disputes. These incidents include Taiwan's exclusion from the WHA meeting, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government's mask diplomacy, and the debate surrounding the potential renaming of China Airlines. The selected articles have been translated from Mandarin to English. The theoretical framework for this study utilizes the five generic news frames proposed by Semetko and Valkenburg (2000), the concept of textual silence by Huckin (2002), and the emphasis and de-emphasis strategies identified by Rosulek (2014). The analysis examines how the publishers frame the events, the information presented to readers, the information excluded, and what is given greater emphasis. This approach helps to identify how the newspapers uphold their ideological stances through various linguistic techniques. The findings indicate that the China Times frequently frames events by suggesting misconduct by the current government. At the same time, the Taipei Times tends to frame incidents in terms of moral obligations or emotional appeals to foster empathy and encourage timely governmental action. Furthermore, the China Times includes and emphasizes cross-strait relations or international risks, often excluding or downplaying Taiwan's success in managing COVID-19 and gaining international recognition. Conversely, the Taipei Times highlights Taiwan's contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing more detailed information on these topics. However, their editorials rarely address the political constraints and potential repercussions that may arise from advocating for national identity recognition. These insights underscore the need for further research to uncover the underlying ideologies in newspaper editorials, highlighting the pervasive nature of media bias and the importance of media literacy.

Graduation Semester

2025-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129217

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2025 Jillian Keng

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