A Comparison of the Identity Construction of Foreign Ministers of PRC Regarding the Issues of Territorial Sovereignty and State Relations

Abstract

The implicature under diplomatic discourse has been an interesting topic for both the media and the public. Foreign minister’s response to the media ought to stand for the position of the government and the foreign minister’s Question Time is made accessible on the Internet, thus the public may get to know what kind of people their leaders are and how they deal with other countries. However, chances are that spokesmen may react variously when they are confronted with some aggressive questions or some questions that make them feel offended. Additionally, different spokesmen may use different tactics in order to set forth China’s position and its attitudes towards territorial sovereignty and state relations. This paper aims to investigate the identity construction of two spokesmen through their responses to the media all over the world and to reveal the implicatures behind these responses. Foreign minister’s Question Time will be used as data.