Identity construction in weibo communication : Chinese overseas students' experiences in Australia

This chapter investigates identity construction in Chinese overseas students' weibo writing. Drawing on sociolinguistic theories of identity and stance-taking, it analyses how Chinese overseas students in Australia use weibo to report and discuss their unpleasant and even traumatic experiences. I argue that weibo provides a space where an ambivalent identity is constructed and a strong affective stance of fear and fury on self-reported incidents of violence is manifested through linguistic strategies of categorisation, the recurring topos of danger, flaming and nationalistic rhetoric. Weibo-enabled functions such as repast, @users, metacomment and emoticons facilitate and accelerate the recurrence and circulation of this sentiment. Within the limited space of weibo, huge public pressures are generated on authorities in Australia, compelling them to respond to the incidents with a resolution. Using a hysterical-shouting style of writing (i.e. complaining about something in a self-mockery manner), weibo users also form a discourse of resistance, challenging the stereotypical perception of overseas students as 'born rich' and their overseas life as prestigious and relaxing. The weibo writing reveals that Chinese overseas students suffer from an identity crisis and are yet to form a distinct group identity.