Abstract
This chapter discusses to what extent the party-state’s nonparticipatory disaster management approach has been challenged by the rising civic activism associated with the use of Internet and social media. As a consequence of more than a decade of civil society development in China, citizens respond to the disaster just as quickly as the government, with the Internet and social media being a relatively uncensored channel of information and communication among civic forces. The chapter reveals social media’s important functions in the disaster management including information, expression, and civic mobilization, and its role in agenda setting, civic participation, media supervision, and reshape of the party-state’s credibility.
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Chen, G. (2016). New Challenges from Popular Politics: NGOs, Commercial Organizations, Social Media, and Civic Society. In: The Politics of Disaster Management in China. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54831-3_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54831-3_8
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