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Abstract
Transnational protests often involve a cross‐cultural encounter between “foreign” protesters and the local media and public, whose repertoires of contentious practices and discourses may differ. Examining how transnational and local actors interact in these events is one way to understand the significance and impact of transnational activism. At the same time, local media coverage of transnational protests can also be analyzed as such a cross‐cultural encounter. Following these premises, this article examines Hong Kong media coverage of the transnational protests during the World Trade Organization's 6th Ministerial Conference, which was held in the city in December 2005. The analysis focuses particularly on how this non‐routine news event provided the conditions for a more reflective interactive dynamics between the protesters and journalists, which contributed to emergence of media discourses negotiating and redefining the existing cultural understanding of protest actions. However, the case study also shows the limits regarding how far the redefinition and negotiation can go. Theoretical implications of the analysis are discussed.
Notes
1. Chan, Kwok‐kei, “Hong Kong people became the biggest loser in the WTO meeting”, Ming Pao, December 25, 2005, p. D10. The Chinese text was translated by the author. The same applies to other quotations from Chinese newspapers below.
2. Kiu, Ching‐wah, “Protectionism”, Ming Pao, December 20, 2005, p. D7.
3. Personal interview conducted in December 2006.
4. Tang served as the chairperson of HKPA during the event. According to another veteran activist Choi Yiu‐cheung, the formation of issue‐based coalitions has long been the primary mode adopted by movement organizations in Hong Kong to tackle specific social and political issues. Personal interview with Choi was conducted in November 2006.
5. A full discussion of the organizational aspects of the transnational protests being examined here is out of the scope of this article. For a discussion of the protests from a Korean activist's perspective, see Jeon (Citation2006).
6. Two of the movement activists interviewed were in their 40s or 50s and have been active in the local social movement sector for about two decades. The third movement activist was in his 20s. The three reporters interviewed were all in their late 20s or early 30s, and had at least five years of journalistic experience by the time of the study.
7. Psuedo‐nyms are used for the Ming Pao reporters interviewed.
8. “WTO meeting is considering forbidding trouble‐makers to enter the territory”, Ming Pao, November 24, 2004, p. A6. All excerpts were translated into English by the author himself.
9. “The police waits for the coming of the December WTO meeting with a serious set up”, Ming Pao, February 5, 2005, p. A16.
10. Fei, Lok‐goh, “WTO mechanism is tilted; poor countries can hardly voice out”, Ming Pao, August 24, 2005, p. B12.
11. Ip, Yam‐chong, “Promoting the culture of freedom is better than promotion WTO”, Ming Pao, October 10, 2005, p. A29.
12. Hui, Po‐keung, “Schizophrenic pro‐and‐con general education on WTO”, Ming Pao, November 7, 2005, p. A30; Hui, Po‐keung, “Give me the reason to support WTO”, Ming Pao, November 27, 2005, p. D3.
13. According to various media reports, there were about 2,000 protesters from Korea, of which about 1,500 were peasants.
14. Lau, Chun‐to, “WTO meeting”, Ming Pao, December 13, 2005, p. D4.
15. “Two cases of Korean farmers committing suicide by poisoning in a week”, Ming Pao, November 18, 2005, p. A8.
16. “Korean peasants to Hong Kong citizens”, Ming Pao, August 10, 2005, p. D6.
17. It refers to the action in which the protesters would kneel down and bow to the ground every third step. The performance is highly physically demanding.
18. “Protests were mild and restrained; police's responses were appropriate”, Ming Pao, December 14, 2005, p. A4.
19. “Protesters follow the three nos, police allow the performance”, Ming Pao, December 15, 2005, p. A6.
20. “Korean farmers took buses to promote their views to Hong Kong people”, Ming Pao, December 16, 2005, p. A4.
21. “One can't capture the tiger without entering the cave”, Ming Pao, December 15, 2005, p. A4.
22. “Korean farmer: Worry that Sunday will have fatal conflicts”, Ming Pao, December 15, 2005, p. A3.
23. “The WTO meeting nears its end; security awareness has to be heightened”, Ming Pao, December 17, 2003, p. A3.
24. “Wanchai fallen, anti‐riot police arrested 900”, Ming Pao, December 18, 2005, p. A1.
25. “The bottom line of social order can't be breached; decisive use of force is the only option”, Ming Pao, December 18, 2005, p. A5.
26. Ah‐foon, “Necessary violence”, Ming Pao, December 19, 2005, p. D07.
27. “Bishop criticized police as the shame of Hong Kong”, Ming Pao, December 19, 2005, p. A8.
28. Tsang Kam‐man, “A few days of WTO meeting”, Ming Pao, December 25, 2005, p. D6.