Abstract

In recent years, China has enjoyed a booming development. Scholars at home and abroad have devoted considerable attention to the study of China’s image presented in the western newspapers. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held in Beijing on 8th, December, 2012, which selected a new central leadership. Meanwhile, media from the international community reported this historically significant event. However, some reports are biased. The Washington Post is a venerable daily newspaper in America with a long history and great international influence. This thesis is grounded in the analysis of news reports covered by The Washington Post during China’s 18th CPC National Congress, with an aim to demonstrate the unfair attitude held to China’s political system by western media and to figure out the causes of their prejudice and to offer solutions. The thesis is divided into three parts. Part one introduces The Washington Post and its political orientation as well as the background information of China’s 18th National Congress; Part two elaborates the newspaper’s political bias and prejudice by analyzing the diction and implied semantic meaning in online sample articles. Additionally, it attempts to trace the cultural, political, and economic causes behind America’s prejudice; Part three centers on the proposal of corresponding countermeasures from the perspective of government and mass media.

Key words: prejudice; 18th National Congress; The Washington Post

摘  要

近年来，中国的发展令世界瞩目。国内外一些学者纷纷将眼光投向了反映中国国家形象的新闻报道研究。中国共产党第十八次全国代表大会于2012年11月8日在北京召开，选举了新一届的中共中央领导。国际社会媒体多角度报道了这次历史性大会，其中诸多评价有失偏颇。《华盛顿邮报》是美国负有声望的日报，历史悠久，且颇具国际影响力。本文以该报在中共十八大期间所刊相关文章报道与评论为研究对象，揭示美国《华盛顿邮报》对中国政治体制持有的偏见态度，并探讨了不公立场背后的原因及应对策略。本文分为三个部分。首先，介绍中共十八大的召开背景并概括《华盛顿邮报》对华政治事件所持报道的政治倾向。其次，在网上选取该时段一定数量的文本，分析文本内容的词汇表达及暗含语义，论证美媒的对华偏见。探讨导致美媒对华偏见态度的文化、政治、经济等多重原因。最后，论文从政府和媒体两个层面提出相应对策。

关键词：偏见；十八大；华盛顿邮报