A Study on Taiwan-related Public Opinion and Its Attitude Differences Among the Netizens of Chinese Mainland: An Analysis of the Topic of “Seeking Independence by Epidemic” on Weibo

Abstract

This study explores the timing of the outbreak of Taiwan-related public opinion and the corresponding public opinion events among mainland microblog netizens under the theme of “seeking independence through the epidemic”. Utilizing the “interpretation package” theory, “encoding/decoding theory,” and emotional polarity analysis, the study establishes a framework for analyzing netizens, sentiment in terms of priority, negotiation, and confrontation. The study extracts five distinct emotional differences in national identity, including “acknowledging the legitimacy of the Chinese central government and actively participating in the formation of national identity, “having strong confidence in China’s military power,” displaying “nationalistic and resolute views on sovereignty issues,” “disapproving of certain harmful policies and subjects,” and “patriotic sentiments fueled by Internet populism.”