Voices of China’s Society and Culture Database
What is this database offering?
This database offers a unique perspective on Chinese society by showcasing the diversity of opinions expressed despite censorship and repression. It explores four channels of expression: social conflicts, social media, emerging currents of thought, and interviews with Chinese migrants and students in France. The dataset, primarily composed of interviews, provides insights into key debates within Chinese society and perceptions of European societies and the European Union.
Why did we decide to create this database?
This database aims to fill the gap in understanding the nuanced and diverse opinions within Chinese society that are often overshadowed by mainstream narratives, providing valuable insights into social conflicts, emerging currents of thought, and perceptions of European societies through firsthand interviews and alternative channels of expression.
What can the database be used for?
The database can be used by researchers, policymakers, and students to analyze contemporary Chinese social dynamics, explore the impact of censorship on public opinion, and study cross-cultural perspectives between China and Europe. It offers a valuable resource for examining social conflicts, understanding emerging opinions within Chinese society, and gaining insights into how Chinese migrants and students perceive European societies and the European Union.
When was it created and/or updated?
The database was created in April 2024, with data collection, including interviews and social media reports, starting in late 2022. The social conflict data is updated monthly, while other information is updated in a flexible manner.
Who is behind the database?
- Sciences Po and SWPS (Jean-Louis Rocca, Camille Salgues, Tang Lingyue) and SWPS (Marcin Jacoby). Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- UAM (Taciana Fisac, Mario Santander). Contact:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Description of and access to the data
This database focuses on a variety of forms of expression in Chinese society despite censorship and sometimes repression. We investigate four channels of expression on “opinion”. First, the field of social conflict covers a broad spectrum. Since the end of the 1990s, employees of state-owned enterprises, migrant workers, or homeowners have not hesitated to defend their interests. The second channel concerns the social networks. These have become a real place for the exchange of information and views, as well as an indispensable source of information for the Chinese government on the state of the country. Third, we have to take into account of the new currents of opinion that are emerging in China and challenging the values and norms that rule Chinese society. Fourth, we conducted interviews with Chinese migrants and Chinese students living in France. In addition to "opinions", we investigate other forms of expression through cultural and literary productions.
A set of data collected by the SWPS University team deals with materials on cultural and literary productions, including online artist information, ample information on Chinese theatre, statistical data on the cultural sector in China, among others. Data collected by the Sciences po team are divided in three. First, we collected and analyzed hot topics in Chinese social media since the beginning of the project. We observed netizen comments and tracked the evolution of discussions over time. The two other sets presents interviews with both Chinese migrants and students. The data collected by the UAM DWARC team consists mainly of interviews with Chinese students and migrants, on a number of debates that are mobilising Chinese society on the one hand, and about European societies and the European Union on the other. Their dataset is available separately, on the UAM data repository.
Access to some data is open. In other cases (relevant for the UAM data) it is restricted so the data can only be accessed by researchers affiliated at European research institutions.
