376P
Exploring the Roles of Ethnic Print Media for the Local Chinese Canadian Community in the Context of Rapidly Changing Immigration Policies in Canada
Canada relies on immigration to sustain its economy. However, many advocates and critiques are alarmed by the unprecedented changes in immigration policies since 2008. Arguably these changes are negatively affecting immigrants from the Global South, including Chinese. Mainland China has been one of the top source countries of immigration to Canada since 1997, with approximately over 30,000 entering Canada each year. As the second largest ethnic minority group, Chinese Canadians have established a strong media presence. Given that a large proportion of this community consists of recent immigrants, what are the Chinese print media reporting and what role does it play for the Chinese community? Drawing the data from the larger research project focusing on how public discourses construct skilled immigrants, this study explores the roles of Chinese-language print media in the context of rapidly changing immigration policies.
Methods
The research team has performed a media analysis on three leading (multi-nationally sponsored) Toronto-based Chinese language newspapers for the period of 2009-2013 (n = 850). Articles were selected by keywords and coded in Chinese using NVivo software. The codebook was initially developed for the English data within the larger project, which was informed by partly open-coding process and partly the research team’s research knowledge. For the Chinese data, a Chinese codebook was developed with translated terms from the English codebook and additional Chinese-specific codes based on initial and ongoing data analysis to capture rich meanings specific to the Chinese text. Coded data were further thematized and analyzed. Our analysis is also informed through community forums with media representatives, social service providers, and academics.
Findings
The staggering number of articles provided detailed information about immigration policy updates and changes (n = 715, 84.1%), such as immigrant quota and application process; issues with backlog; length of application process; and discussion of various new visa categories. Some articles focused on strategies to cope with the rapidly changing immigration landscape (n = 103, 12.1%). Since 2012, there has been a small but increasing number of articles critiquing immigration policy about its negative impact on Chinese community and reporting emerging resistance in the Chinese Canadian community as well as “back home” in Asia (n = 51, 6%).
Implications:
The research data suggest that there are three possible functions of Chinese print media for the readers. First, there is a Watchdog function wherein Chinese media acts as a community sentinel against external threat (e.g., immigration policy changes) in a constant and detailed way. The Chinese media may also serve as an Institution of Social Control; the media suggests the best possible options for Chinese community to navigate the system. Lastly, there is a possibility of the media as a facilitator of Social Activism by providing critiques for the immigration policy and indirectly encouraging the audience to participate in actions against unfair treatments and discrimination. These results start to paint the dynamic relationship between the state and the “ethnic” media, and by extension, communities of color with strong transnational ties. Implications for social work practice are discussed.