<Redirecting> the diaspora: China's united front work and the hyperlink networks of diasporic Chinese websites in cyberspace

ABSTRACT

In recent years concerns have emerged regarding the loyalty of ethnic Chinese residing outside of China and whether they are agents of foreign influence. China has also recently declared its ambition to be an ‘Internet superpower’ and use the internet for political goals. This article will therefore explore the role of the internet in China's diaspora engagement efforts. By adopting an Information Technology (IT)-informed approach, this article seeks to provide insights to the following question(s): Does China engage in diaspora engagement on the internet, to what extent, and what are the implications of such? An in-depth look at a representative sample of Chinese-language websites outside of China reveals ‘dual-track messaging’ approaches where non-political (i.e. business) news exists alongside overtly political messages. This strongly suggests that the Communist Party of China's (CPC) United Front work to co-opt the diaspora is also taking place via cyberspace, in addition to traditional media sources.

KEYWORDS:

• China
• Chinese diaspora
• overseas Chinese
• united front
• digital statecraft

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Professor William A. Callahan, Professor Christopher R. Hughes, and Dr. Lua Eng Keong for their support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).