Yonghong Dai’s scientific contributions

This study investigates the impact of the media’s secondary agenda-setting on public perception and policy priorities regarding the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in Myanmar from to 2011–2024. Three hypotheses (Hs) were examined: H1 posits that media coverage aligns with public and policy perspectives; H2 proposes that media emphasis on specific attributes influences their prominence in public opinion and policymaking; and H3 suggests that public opinion mediates the relationship between media coverage and policy priorities, indicating an indirect media influence on policymaking. This study employed a cross-sectional research design, utilizing both quantitative content analysis and survey methodologies. The content comprises the analysis of two news outlets’ coverage (n = 144), surveys with 385 respondents (n = 385), and in-depth interviews with 30 participants (n = 30), and the findings revealed a significant positive correlation between media coverage and public opinion and policy priorities (r = 0.86, r = 0.81, respectively). SEM path analysis reveals that the media agenda indirectly shapes the policy agenda through the public agenda, with an indirect effect path coefficient of 0.718, highlighting the media’s role in policymaking processes. This is evidenced by a significant correlation between media coverage and public opinion (p < 0.05), and a strong direct association between public opinion and policy priorities (p < 0.05). This study extends the agenda-setting theory by empirically demonstrating the media’s indirect effect on policy formation in global infrastructure projects within a developing Southeast Asian country. Future studies should examine the evolution of media patterns across different administrations, including the current one. The results also suggest examining the broader media portrayal of governance issues and conducting extensive research on the media’s impact on public opinion.

This study investigates the relationship between news media and public opinion on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in Myanmar since media liberalization in 2011, using first-level agenda-setting theory. A mixed-method approach was employed: a quantitative content analysis of 217 articles from ELEVEN and The Irrawaddy, identifying 1436 distinct frames on ten BRI-related issues, and a survey of 385 respondents to assess public opinion. Spearman’s rank-order correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship between media coverage and public opinion. A strong positive correlation (rho = 0.87, p < 0.05) was found between increased media coverage and public opinion alignment regarding BRI-related issues. The findings highlight the significant influence of the media on the public perception of BRI projects in Myanmar, and contribute to media effects and agenda-setting theory, offering insights for stakeholders investigating the interplay between the media, public opinion, and international development. Further research is needed to explore the media’s agenda-setting role in BRI project policy decisions in Myanmar.

Since media liberalization in 2011, news media has played a critical role in shaping public opinion, impacting the government’s policy-making process. After the emergence of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) in 2018, Chinese projects have increasingly attracted media attention in Myanmar. Previous studies mainly focus on Chinese projects with different perspectives, such as geopolitics and international perspectives, while lacking an understanding of media. Therefore, this article set out to study media perceptions of Chinese projects under the CMEC to examine how the news media frames Chinese projects in Myanmar. Qualitative content analysis with Entman’s four frames was applied to find media frames with Chinese investments in Myanmar. Three news media outlets, Eleven News, The Irrawaddy, and Radio Free Asia (RFA), were selected to find critical news stories related to Chinese projects under the CMEC. 15 news stories (N=15) between 2018 to the present were selected, and the study was systematically conducted, following Braun and Clarkes’ six-phase-analytical process. The study proved that four themes addressed the research question, "How do news media frame news about Chinese projects in Myanmar?” It was concluded that news media primarily framed two factors, public concerns and domestic issues, that impeded the successful implementation of Chinese investments in Myanmar. Finally, the study found that news media called for effective collaboration between China and Myanmar to ensure mutual benefits. It also further recommended that future research should consider longitudinal studies to examine media framing impacts public opinion and policy changes, and to incorporate a wider range of media sources to improve the generalizability of findings to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of media perceptions over time.