Recontextualizing the basic law in South China morning post : a diachronic corpus-assisted discourse study

Abstract

The Basic Law serves as the foundation of Hong Kong’s governance and its unique status under Chinese sovereignty, yet its interpretation and implementation have often sparked debate and controversy since the 1997 handover. This study conducts a corpus-assisted discourse analysis of the recontextualization of the Basic Law in the influential English-language newspaper, South China Morning Post, over a 25-year period (1997–2022). The aim is to uncover diachronic changes in how the Basic Law has been recontextualized by integrating text mining with critical discourse studies. The findings identify three distinct periods of recontextualization, each characterized by particular patterns and approaches. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the Basic Law’s recontextualization and highlights the benefits of combining text mining with critical discourse analysis.