Abstract:
This talk explores how the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has been recontextualized in news media through a corpus-assisted discourse analysis. Drawing on a large dataset of news articles, this study examines the discursive strategies and linguistic patterns used to represent the Basic Law across different socio-political contexts. It identifies key themes, ideological stances, and shifts in framing over time, shedding light on how media outlets engage with and reinterpret the legal framework to align with broader political narratives. By combining critical discourse analysis with corpus linguistics, the study provides a systematic and data-driven approach to understanding the role of media in shaping public perceptions of the Basic Law. This research contributes to the fields of media discourse, legal communication, and socio-political studies, offering insights into the dynamic relationship between law, media, and ideology.

Biography:

Liu Ming, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests include corpus-assisted discourse studies, critical discourse studies, ecological discourse studies, corporate communication, and intercultural communication. He has led and completed one project funded by the National Social Science Foundation and one by the Ministry of Education’s Humanities and Social Sciences Foundation for Young Scholars. Currently, he is leading a GRF project funded by Hong Kong’s Research Grants Council.

Dr. Liu has published over 40 papers in international journals such as Discourse & Society, Language and Communication, Discourse & Communication, Discourse, Context & Media, Journal of Language and Politics, Journalism, Pragmatics & Society, and Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, as well as in leading Chinese journals such as Foreign Languages and Modern Foreign Languages. He also serves on the editorial boards of Discourse & Society and Journal of Language and Politics.