This book project was funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant, “Chinese-language Digital/Social Media in Australia: Rethinking Soft Power” (DP180100663). It would not have been possible without the contribution of the many Mandarin-speaking Chinese Australians—everyday social media users, digital content producers, and Chinese-language media practitioners—who generously gave us their time over more than three years, talking to us and sharing their views in surveys, in-depth interviews, longitudinal ethnographic interactions, and WeChat discussion groups. Our first and most heartfelt thanks go to them. We feel privileged to have had their trust and confidence.
Our thanks also go to several people who have assisted us at different stages of the project. Our progress would not have been smooth-sailing were it not for our research assistant Leicia Petersen’s capable assistance in administering surveys, gathering data, and maintaining our website. We were fortunate to have editorial assistance from, first, Emily Dunn, and then James Beattie. We are indebted to both of them for their excellent editorial work.
Our respective families gave their moral and logistical support throughout the project, especially during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We thank them for their understanding.
We would also like to thank Chuyan Shu and Iulia Ivana at Brill for their advice and encouragement as well as the two anonymous reviewers who read an earlier version of the manuscript, and gave us valuable advice and feedback that improved many aspects of the book.
Gary Wong created the image on the cover of the book, based on a concept by James Beattie.
An earlier iteration of some material used in this book has been published in a number of journals, including Media International Australia, Continuum, and Social Media & Society.
Wanning Sun and Haiqing Yu