Redai dili (Mar 2022)
Transformation of Regional Spatial Coordinative Development of the Guangdong- Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in the Lens of Media Interaction Process
Abstract
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is built across three different governance contexts; these three cities have different socio-political structures, legal systems, and cultural identities. From the perspective of media geography, this article proposes a framework with four dimensions and three categories, to explore how cross-border media communication affects the formation and accumulation of social capital, and thus influences regional coordination under the political structure of "one country, two systems" in the region. To fully understand the different characteristics of each development stage, the research further divides the synergic development process into five phases: economic bonding, policy-economic bonding, policy-economic bridging, policy-social linking, and policy-economic-social bridging. The study found that even though media interactions between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao have intensified in frequency, social capital at the "socio-cultural" level is relatively weak. Owing to the lack of a widely accepted regional media platform that fits into the communication habits of people in all GBA cities, it is difficult to build an effective monitoring mechanism and feedback system that enables a detection and response to people's opinions on the ground. Consequently, disagreements and conflicts have led to high social costs for some cross-border infrastructure projects. By exploring the mechanisms of media interaction and social capital formation within the regional coordination process, this paper concludes with three strategies to achieve effective multilevel connection and coordination between GBA cities, especially in social and cultural aspects. 1) Governments in each city should work together to build up a regional platform and broaden media channels for the circulation of shared information, which fits various local situations and media usage habits. 2) There is a need for the GBA to establish an effective public opinion monitoring and feedback system on a regional scale, which penetrates people's daily lives, and is accessible to the wider public. Updating prompt information based on people's needs, views, and expectations helps strengthen the entire regional cooperation system and resilient governance structure. 3) Linking propagation is important for the stabilization of social development. Overall, there is a need for the GBA to build a more flexible multilevel dialogue mechanism that facilitates vertical communication to enhance non-institutional and effective bottom-level collaboration.
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