Weibo and local governments in China : contributions towards good governance?

Though some studies have focused on how media is an essential component of good governance, there is very little existing literature on the most recent media platform – social media – and the realization of good governance in China. This thesis tries to fill in the gap and to demonstrate the ways local governments in China have used Weibo – the most popular Chinese social media platform – to improve their governing and to fulfill the criteria of “good governance” proposed by different parties internationally. This thesis uses the case study of a local government Weibo account – the Ma’anshan Release and analyzes the contents of its posts, reposts and private messages. It concludes that through the Ma’anshan Release, the Ma’anshan local government shows a notable level of responsiveness, responsibility, effectiveness and efficiency, and transparency, as well as efforts for preventing the abuse of power and corruption. All these criteria are in parallel with the variables proposed in current studies of good governance. It also proposes that the Ma’anshan Release is not an isolated case; its practices can be found in different jurisdictions in China. Thus, Weibo as a social media tool can help local governments in China contribute to the realization of good governance.Arts, Faculty ofAsian Research, Institute ofGraduat