The Construction, Communication And Social Impact Of Contentious Discourse In Environment Movement-taking "panyu Case" As An Example

For any social movement, the process of discourse formation is dynamic, whichincludes multi-game, discourse construction, decision-making, etc. However, various kinds ofrelatively stationary speech-forms which are called contentious discourse or strategicframework often appear in the important stage, they usually appear in these forms: rumor,slogan, banner, speech, petition, open letter, post, blog, micro-blogging, and other kinds ofsymbols or texts. The domestic and foreign scholars focus more on the discourse presented bythe mainstream media; in fact, the civil discourse neglected by the mainstream press maybetter reflect the essence of social contentious.The research describes the contradiction of “the site selection for waste incinerationplant in Panyu District of Guangzhou” from the perspective of the contentious discourse ofurban middle class, which combines qualitative and quantitative methods, including survey,fieldwork and in-depth interview. The article firstly displays the discourse game between themass media’s selective reporting and the appeals of the people, explores the mass media canact as the organizational resources of the movement. Secondly, the article analyzes how theurban middle class and opinion leaders use different communication channels to makedifferent strategic framework, develop internal communication, mobilize and organizespecific contentious discourses and behaviors. The article also summarizes the urbanenvironmental movement since2007, and then discusses the roles of Panyu case in China’senvironmental movements.By analyzing the process of contentious discourse formation in Panyu case, it is provedthat the current environmental movement is facing dilemma in China. First of all, new mediaindeed plays an important role in the environmental movement, such as spreading information,disseminating professional knowledge, releasing public sentiment, spreading contentiousdiscourse and mobilizing the power of people. However, new media cannot replace thetraditional means of expression of public opinion as the main channel, and over-exaggeratethe role of new media will also impede the normal channels of interaction between officialsand the public.Secondly, as one of the most outstanding of the environmental movements in China, thetemporary victory in Panyu case is due to the functions of mobilizing and organizing from themass media, which guide public opinion by constructing contentious discourse. Besides, the“discourse” and “scripts” of Panyu case make contribution to the “cultural repertoire” of social movements in China.Thirdly, under the existing system in China, environmental movement is still not a simpleexpression of the appeals of contentious agendas; it’s often linked with politics,democratization, citizenship issues all the time.And finally, the identity and economic status of middle-class not only determines China’surban environmental movement cannot be carried out to the end, but also determines it willremain in the “Not in my backyard” type of action for a long period of time in the future.