Abstract

The question of representation of immigrants in mass media has been widely debated in the fields of journalism studies and sociology; in particular, the media construction of immigrant collective identity has been a key academic issue. However, there has been little academic attention given to the media construction of the diaspora identities of Hong Kong Canadians. In order to partially fill this existing gap, this research examined how a newspaper aimed at the Hong Kong Canadian community promoted a specific understanding of identity. In particular, this thesis examines the frames promoted and core messages about identities conveyed in the Sing Tao Daily as it reported on significant events leading up to Hong Kong’s Handover in 1997. Furthermore, it interprets these findings from the perspective of the media construction of identities, concluding that the Sing Tao Daily served assimilative and pluralistic functions, helping the community to assimilate into mainstream Canadian society and at the same time maintain multi-faceted identities with ties to Hong Kong and China.