Title: A Corpus-Based Critical Discourse Analysis of China’s Anti-Corruption Campaign Reported by Western Media

Abstract: In recent years, the corruption and anti-corruption campaigns in China have become hot topics in foreign media. Based on a 210,000-word self-built corpus consisting of Western news reports on these topics in the past five years, this essay examines the hidden ideology and social reasons behind Western news reports by observing the wordlists, collocates, and concordance lines. The research results show that Western media have negative views on corruption in China, and recognize the magnitude of the anti-corruption campaign as well. Nevertheless, some news reports have doubts about the purpose and credibility of the anti-corruption campaign, and relate the campaign to an inner-party power struggle, presenting a negative image of China.

Keywords: anti-corruption, Western media, corpus, Critical Discourse Analysis

Authors: Jinlin Jiang, Associate Professor, School of International Studies, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing, China; Meihui Zhang, School of International Studies, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing, China.