Consequence of Social Conflicts: Public Opinion Polarization and Mass Media in Hong Kong

Abstract

Public opinion polarization, which usually refers to the increasing disagreement in political preferences or ideologies, has become more prominent in recent years. Polarization is considered to threaten democratic well-being in that democracy requires deliberation and compromise among different groups in society. That said, polarization is also found to boost political engagement among the public. Therefore, opinion polarization at the aggregate level is worth studying for its far-reaching effect on a society at large, especially in a place where the sociopolitical context is different from the Western world. The media is among the most recognized causes for the shift to mass polarization. The literature documents that the changes in media environment and media content have consequences for polarization. Following and extending this line of research, I conduct the current study in Hong Kong to explore the existence of opinion polarization in the public and to investigate the relationship between public opinion polarization and mass media.

Using longitudinal data spanning 15 years, I trace the dynamic of public opinion polarization in Hong Kong. In the political issue domain, public opinion regarding the approval rates of chief executives has been polarized. As well as polarization in the whole population, the gap between males and females, as well as between the old and young generation, has also increased. Public opinion toward the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government also polarized from approximately 2007 to 2018, whereas public opinion toward the Central Government has displayed a sudden and sharp polarization since 2008. Overall, Hong Kong citizens’ feeling of satisfaction with the political condition has also polarized, but to a lesser extent. On the other hand, Hong Kong public opinions regarding the economic status and livelihood condition have also exhibited a trend of polarization. Regarding the relationship between public opinion polarization and tone in newspapers, in general, the media tone displays a pattern of responsiveness to public opinion polarization, except for Apple Daily. Among the four newspapers (Ta Kung Pao, Ming Pao, Oriental Daily News, Apple Daily) I choose to analyze, Apple Daily has the power to influence public opinion polarization. The media tone in Apple Daily has an effect on public opinion polarization in terms of people’s ratings of incumbent chief executives, citizens’ attitudes toward the HKSAR government, and the effective polarization of partisan organizations. In respect to item of attitude toward the Central Government, there is no relationship between tone in any newspaper and public opinion polarization.

Date of Award	9 Jul 2020
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Fei SHEN (Supervisor)