Understanding the public interest puzzle in China’s public relations

8 Understanding the public interest puzzle in China ’ s public relations The role of balance and counterbalance based on Confucian Great Harmony Jenny Zhengye Hou Introduction Public interest has been a long-standing yet unresolved puzzle in Western public relations research and practice (Edwards 2011; Stoker & Stoker 2012). Despite structural variances across Western democracy, a shared assumption underpinning public interest is that individuals have a ‘ responsible share ’ in forming group activities and participating in the a ff airs that sustain the ‘ great community ’ (Dewey 1927, p. 147). The public-private or state-society binary constitutes the foundation of Western public interest. Following the key spirit of common good, public interest is pursued through creating an equal and free ‘ marketplace of ideas ’ (Bivins 1993, p. 123), where individuals have access to information, and can freely debate public matters in the light of more inclusive interest than individual interest (Heath 1992; Mechling 1975; Sorauf 1957). Accordingly, the puzzle for public relations is how to fulfil an obligation of service in the public interest while continuing to advocate and sub-sidise organisational, especially corporate interests in representative forms (L ’ Etang 2004). To address this dilemma, the recent growing body of critical public relations scholarship (e.g. Johnston 2016) highlights the importance of cultural impacts, and calls for the examination of public interest communication under diverse and specific cultural microscopes...