| This dissertation is concerned with the role of Shengjing Shibao (Shengjing Times), a Japanese-owned Chinese-language newspaper, in the construction of public opinion in Shenyang and its environs during the last five years of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).;Using the concept of news framing, this study explores the power of print in the early issues of this initially 5,000-circulation daily newspaper, published in the leading city of northeastern China, beginning in 1906. Established by Japanese journalist Nakajima Masao (1859-1943), Shengjing shibao received financial assistance from Japan's consulate-general in Shenyang during its early years. It was published until the Second World War.;Representing Japan's presence as a boon to the region, the newspaper urged its readers to consider the benefits of Sino-Japanese cooperation. In the wake of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5), Japan acquired rights and economic interests in the region from Russia due to its victory. These included a leasehold over the Liaodong Peninsula, renamed the Kwantung Leased Territory, a railway, and land along the railway.;In addition, the newspaper provided its readers with news and views about the New Policies (Xinzheng), or the raft of reforms implemented by the Qing court and its officials, beginning in 1901. In particular, it covered the political reform process in Fengtian Province, including preparations for the province's first-ever elections, the indirect elections process, and the convening of the first-ever representative body, the Fengtian Provincial Assembly, in 1909. While interpreting the political reforms as a sign of "progress and enlightenment," its pages did not encourage broad political participation, much less popular participation. Reporting on the October 14, 1909, convocation, for instance, it used a news frame that constrained broad participation in the new political process.;Finally, the newspaper discouraged anti-imperialist Chinese nationalism targeted at Japan. When the 1909 anti-Japanese goods boycott movement arose in response to the September signing of the Manchurian Convention, which increased Japan's economic interests in the region, its pages publicized official Chinese pronouncements banning the boycott, but the newspaper provided little coverage of the protests themselves.;Thus Shengjing shibao opened doors to political participation, albeit not very widely, in the waning years of the Qing dynasty as it competed to develop and shape public opinion in northeastern China. |
