PhD student Xuda Wang introduces TikTok research at EACA and SACOMM

From July 9 to September 16, CAMRI doctoral student Xuda Wang went to Africa for a ten-week field survey. During this period, Xuda had in-depth discussions with scholars, journalists, and college students from Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and South Africa on developing Chinese technology and TikTok in Africa. At the same time, he also made presentations at two academic conferences, “The 14th East African Communication Association (EACA) Conference 2024” and “The Annual South African Communications Association (SACOMM) Conference 2024”. He exchanged views with many African research scholars.

In Zimbabwe, Xuda Wang visited the large newsgroup Zimpaper and interviewed the group’s editor-in-chief, deputy editor-in-chief, and head of the technology section. His interviewees in Zimbabwe were extremely wide, not only limited to mainstream media practitioners but also included many Zimbabwean scholars and independent media people. At the same time, Xuda Wang visited the offices of Huawei and ZTE in Zimbabwe, visited local Confucius Institutes and Chinese companies, and exchanged views with relevant business personnel. In addition, Xuda Wang conducted a group interview with several students from the University of Zimbabwe to understand their experience of using TikTok.

In Tanzania, Xuda Wang went to the well-known local TV station Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation for interviews and exchanges. Not only that, but he also communicated with practitioners from several private media in Dar es Salaam. During the exchange at the University of Dar es Salaam, Xuda Wang had dialogues with many senior Tanzanian scholars and conducted group interviews with more than a dozen college students. In addition, Xuda Wang also participated in the 14th East African Communication Association (EACA) Conference 2024 held in Dar es Salaam. At this conference, Xuda Wang made a presentation titled “Three Dimensions: Exploring China and Africa’s Information Society”, exploring the extensive technological connections between China and Africa. During the conference, Xuda Wang interviewed many scholars from Tanzania, Kenya and other countries and exchanged views with well-known scholars such as Professor Kaarle Nordenstreng.

In South Africa, Xuda Wang participated in the 2024 Annual South African Communications Association (SACOMM) Annual Conference held at Stellenbosch University. At the conference, his speech discussed how the Lu Ke incident affected Internet exchanges between China and Africa in space and time. During the conference, he had multiple rounds of dialogue with other social media researchers, especially scholars studying TikTok. He also interviewed two scholars, Professor Herman Wasserman and Andre Gouws, and discussed with them how to research TikTok in Africa.