In government microblogs we trust: Doing trust work in Chinese government microblogs during COVID-19

Abstract

This paper presents a novel model for examining trust work in the Chinese government microblogs, integrating Fuoli and Paradis’s model of trust-repair discourse with scholarly views on Chinese trust. We argue that the ultimate communicative goal of government microblogs is to construct the Chinese authorities’ CBT (cognition-based trust) and ABT (affect-based trust). The antecedents of CBT include the trustee’s ability and integrity, and those of ABT include values congruence and guanxi (personal connections). We also suggest three types of communicative actions critical for trust-building, that is, NN (neutralising the negative), EP (emphasising the positive) and ME (mobilising the emotivity). These actions are realised through engagement and evaluation resources, emotional stories and intimate address forms. We then apply the model to the analysis of trust work in an influential government microblog with the username of @chinapeace. The analysis has the twofold purpose of demonstrating the viability of the model of trust-building discourse and examining the trust work of Chinese government microbloggers facing the pandemic crisis.