Government-Led or Public-Led? Chinese Policy Agenda Setting during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

This paper compares government-led agenda and public-led agenda setting during the COVID-19 pandemic in China to investigate whether or not the pandemic enhances the government's role in agenda setting. Within-case comparison, aided by big data analysis and case study, finds an overall public-led pattern of agenda setting in China, and a mixture of government-led and public-led agenda setting during the pandemic. It is also found that Chinese government bodies pay attention to and are responsive to citizens' emotions expressed through social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)