The use of official and unofficial channels in government-citizen communication in China

Abstract

The objective of this research is to examine Chinese citizens’ attitudes towards official and unofficial channels in both government-to-citizen (G2C) and citizen-to-government (C2G) communication. It investigates citizens’ preferred channel choices for receiving public information and for expressing their personal opinions. Analysis of an online survey shows that respondents have no obvious preference of official or unofficial channels for receiving public information. Yet most respondents prefer unofficial channels for C2G communications because these channels have less language restrictions, allow respondents to hide their identities, and facilitate respondents to obtain a sense of support from people who have similar opinions.