Framing the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement:

Abstract

The 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill Movement in Hong Kong brought on a series of late-night protests and large scale destruction over an unprecedented long period of time. This caught the attention of local and international media. The contrasting coverage provided opportunities to analyse the framing in local and international newspapers in Hong Kong. Framing, how newspapers portray controversy, can influence a reader’s stance on an event. The framing of the Anti-Extradition Bill movement, in particular, may sway Hong Kong citizens to support a specific political stance. Using coding, this study analysed differences in framing device frequency between local pro-Beijing, local pro-democracy, and international newspapers and the association between tone and framing devices. Differing frequencies between newspapers implied a newspaper’s political stance influenced the framing devices utilised. There was also no predictable association between tone and framing devices due to the lack of consideration of the particular nature of the newspapers.