Hegemonic Discourses and Their Critics in China’s Authoritarian Deliberation: A Study of Price Public Hearing Meetings

Abstract

I study the content and dynamics of Price Public Hearing Meeting (PPHM) in China by analyzing 711 talking points delivered by 140 participants in six deliberative meetings on price adjustments. By examining the “modes of action” and the content of these speeches, this study demonstrates that the participants at these six PPHM’s collectively employed a set of discursive strategies to show deference to the state’s authority and, simultaneously, to expand the discursive space at the PPHM’s beyond the parameters set by the state’s hegemonic discourses. Discussion of government responsibilities and criticism of the state-sanctioned price hikes took place in this new space. The Confucian political value of “people’s livelihood” (minsheng) was widely drawn upon by grassroots representatives to stress the government’s role as the guardian of people’s welfare.