Sport, media and national identity: the case of athletes transferring national allegiance from/to mainland China

Abstract

The aim of this PhD thesis is to delineate the connections between sport and national identity by examining how national identity is constructed in the discourse of both mass media and social media in the context of elite athletes transferring their national allegiances from/to mainland China. Although existing research has partially revealed the migratory patterns of such athletes and the Chinese public’s attitudes towards these athletes, it is still not known how these athletes are represented by Chinese mainstream mass media and how they represent themselves online through their social media practices. Thus, this thesis was exploratory, interpretative, and critical in nature. Qualitative content analysis and critical discourse analysis were adopted as the main research methods of this thesis. The findings have shown that, during the Olympic Games, the Chinese mainstream press has utilised several discursive strategies to link the athletes who used to be Chinese citizens and the athletes who have naturalised as new Chinese citizens to China. Furthermore, both former Chinese and new Chinese athletes have cautiously balanced their dual national identities in their Chinese social media practices. The significance of this PhD thesis is that it provides a new sociological understanding of the meanings and norms of national identity during five different Olympic Games (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022) and further contributes to wider sociocultural debates on national identity and nationalism, in particular around notions of ‘Chineseness’.