Remaking a Global Cantonese Community with Television and Social Media

Simin Li’s new book is a fascinating study of Cantonese popular media and identity politics in the age of Xi Jinping. Ranging over a mix of broadcast television shows and online discussion forums dedicated to discussion of language and dialect, Li presents a portrait of a still-vibrant Cantonese media landscape under serious pressure from Beijing’s Mandarin-first policies. In addition to offering media-studies analysis of these media texts themselves, Li adds significant value by including candid interviews with a number of content creators who agreed to go on the record for this book. In addition to being a valuable snapshot of contemporary Cantonese identity, “Remaking a Global Cantonese Community with Television and Social Media” will also be of interest to a broad range of scholars interested in the interaction of media and language politics.

Dr. Daniel Fried

Department of East Asian Studies

University of Alberta

"Remaking a Global Cantonese Community with Television and Social Media," despite its short length, is definitely a landmark and timely scholarly work. It not only addresses the histories of the Cantonese-speaking communities and identity politics, but also draws our attention to the diversity and complexity of Chinese languages. Based on a wealth of case studies with nuanced and balanced analysis and arguments, the book inspires us to re-examine the contested domains of cultural politics in contemporary China. It serves as a critique of the dominance of official language and a reminder of the liveliness and agency of local languages.

Professor Iam-chong Ip

Institute of Social Research and Cultural Studies

National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan