ESSAYS ON THE RHETORIC OF CHINA'S ANTICORRUPTION CAMPAIGN

In my dissertation, I conduct a comprehensive investigation of the rhetoric of China’s anticorruption campaign. I argue that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses subjective, abusive, and nonfalsifiable rhetoric as a tool to 1) frame the campaign differently and shift blame to corrupt officials (Framing Effect), and 2) demonstrate its strength and deter citizens from “rebellious behaviors” (Deterrence Effect). I assess the causal effects of anticorruption rhetoric via a survey experiment. I find that anticorruption rhetoric does come with both the framing effect and the deterrence effect. Moreover, its framing effect impacts citizens with low political knowledge. On the other hand, citizens with high political knowledge are mainly affected by anticorruption rhetoric's deterrence effect. My dissertation suggests that anticorruption rhetoric is not just symbolic. It does have substantive effects on public opinion. The findings not only shed light on CCP’s propaganda strategy but also on authoritarian resilience. Furthermore, I examine how sexual scandals revealed during China’s anticorruption campaign impact women's willingness to work for the government. I argue that the vast majority of victims of sexual misconduct are women. Therefore, they are more sensitive to their working environment than their male counterparts. A hazardous working environment with the risk of being involved in sexual misconduct can deter young women from working for the government. On the other hand, men are less concerned about being involved with sexual misconduct. If any effects exist, men might be incentivized by potential opportunities for sexual rent-seeking. The experimental evidence suggests that the exposure to a sex scandal of a corrupt official enlarges the gender gap in willingness to work for the government. The finding suggests that China's anticorruption campaign has a spillover effect that might jeopardize female representation from the supply side.