Communicating in diverse local cultures: Analyzing Chinese government communication programs around nuclear power projects

Abstract

Abstract Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of sociocultural context in the process of government communication, but few studies have elaborated on the underlying mechanisms. By comparing government communication strategies under diverse sociocultural factors, this study aims to explore the role of local culture as a contextual factor in the design of government communication. Drawing on evidence from China's government communication on nuclear power projects, we explore how the central government constructed communication strategies based on different local cultures to enhance public acceptance of nuclear power projects. A comparison of this case in two cities reveals that the government can design communication strategies based on their understanding of local citizens – using local culture as the basis of audience segmentation to create different communication strategies for different citizens.