The Emergence of Postcolonial Apologia: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Chinese Governmental Response to Western Accusation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In my thesis, I examine how the Chinese government developed postcolonial apologia throughout its dispute with the US government over policies related to COVID-19. I focus on the shifting rhetorical strategies used by the Chinese government to defend China from accusations by other nations, especially the US. I determine that the Chinese government\u27s response to the Western accusation during the COVID-19 pandemic progressively shifted from participating in the Western system to questioning Western centralization and adding Chinese interpretations to the existing world order. I argue that China\u27s self-defense strategies altered in light of the changing geopolitical context and became more assertive and confrontational towards Western nations. The more aggressive version of this stance is what I have termed, postcolonial apologia, which I define as a self-defense rhetoric used by non-Western nations against the West accusations. Specifically, non-Western nations use postcolonial apologia to openly resist the colonial legacy of the Western-dominated world order, point out its dominance, and question its universality