The Culture of Celebrity Philanthropy in China's Entertainment Industry: The Interplay of Politics, Culture, and Social Media in Promoting Socialist Values on Weibo

This thesis argues that Chinese celebrity participation in philanthropy on Weibo constitutes a deeply political form of everyday digital culture, strategically aligned with and contributing to the normalization of Chinese socialist values. These philanthropic acts are far from neutral; they are performative practices shaped by state-sanctioned narratives and popular reception. Celebrities act as cultural intermediaries, translating ideological expectations into emotionally resonant stories that are widely circulated in online public spheres. The government actively encourages and regulates these acts, revealing a dynamic interplay of cooperation and control that reinforces state legitimacy. By analysing this convergence of ideology and popular culture, the study shows how celebrity philanthropy functions as both a mechanism of soft power and a contested space for the negotiation of political meaning in China’s digital era. This research contributes to celebrity studies, digital media analysis, and Chinese socio-political studies by offering a nuanced, empirically grounded account of how values are communicated and contested in online celebrity activism.