Online dating platforms are a popular method of meeting potential romantic partners, but only a few studies have looked at what happens when online communicators choose to meet face-to-face (FtF). Walther’s Hyperpersonal Model of computer-mediated communication (CMC) argues that communicators often form idealized perspectives of their online partner due to the ease of curating a positive self-image through CMC. The modality switching perspective then suggests that this idealized perspective can lead to violated expectations when the relationship moves offline, as reality does not often match the perception individuals have mentally formed through CMC. Through in-depth interviews, this study uses qualitative analysis to evaluate the validity of this scenario suggested by both the hyperpersonal model and the modality switching perspective.

This study investigates the relationship between audiences’ interactive behavior intention and motives in a live streaming setting with the Confucian cultural background, using a conceptual model of analysis that incorporates aspects of emotional energy, group identity and peer influence. The findings indicate that interaction rituals as subjective norms play an important role in interaction intention. Emotional energy, group identity, external motives and peer influence motivate audiences to have more interactions. Adopting a grounded theory approach, this study provides new theoretical implications. For the question whether the interaction ritual theory still proves individuals’ need of face-to-face communication, this study includes different answers in live streaming setting. The findings demonstrate that audiences do not have to look for face-to-face communication because of direct communication, immediate feedback, group identity and distinct membership.

The article compares CGTN’s (China Global Television Network) video report of “Fidel Castro’s death” with “Nelson Mandela’s death”, analyzing CGTN’s two pairs of factors such as the number of reports, frequency, content, and foreign media overlap, studying the reporting logic behind it. Looking at the report on the death of Mandela, there are several problems, such as the report being lopsided, following the foreign media, and lacking a Chinese “national position”. Observing reports on the death of Castro, the situation is different. This issue reflects the dilemma of Chinese official media in cross-cultural communication. The article makes data analysis and content analysis on these two news reports of CGTN, and interprets the reasons behind this difference. China’s international cross-cultural communication still lacks its national position. It is necessary to improve Chinese official media’s communication capabilities.

Individuals who used both Chinese and Western online dating websites and apps were examined in the context of modality switching, moving from Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) to Face-to-Face (FtF). Berger and Calabrese’s Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT) was used to view the interaction. This study extends upon research conducted in the USA by Reints and Wickelgren (2018). Using qualitative research methods that included 12 participants, interviewees were asked about online dating platform use that moved from CMC to FtF. Results showed a change in uncertainty when the relationship moved from CMC (minimal anxiety) to FtF (increase anxiety).

This study focuses on intercultural marriages between Chinese wives and their Japanese husbands, who are residing in China as expatriates of Japanese companies. In-depth interviews were conducted with six participants in their native language Mandarin Chinese; general questions such as how the couples met, what brought them to marriages, what kinds of conflict they have had between them, and how they managed it were integrated in a natural flow during the interviews. The results report the perceptions of Chinese wives regarding each other’s cultural backgrounds as well as their choice to manage their marital relationships with their Japanese spouses.

This study describes the concepts of Russian national identity and Russian history that are presented in current Russian children’s books on history. The analysis allowed for the formulation of the semantic profiles of “Russia”, “Russian Empire”, “Soviet Union”, “Great Patriotic War” and “Russian people”. These concepts include key aspects of Russian national identity and history. A comparison with Soviet and post-Soviet textbooks has demonstrated that current concepts are directly related to those of the Soviet and post-Soviet period. Russian history is told as linear and harmonious, practically inevitable in its course. It ranges from the Kievan Rus to the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union to today’s Russia. Russia, the Russian nation with the tsar at its center, embodies a beautiful world. The children’s books narrate in simple and clear form the myth of the distinctiveness of the Russian nation and its historical path.

The study of Southeast Asian languages has received growing attention in China since the official launch of China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” in 2013. In 2018, there were more than a hundred of Southeast Asian language programs in 56 institutions across China. Graduates from these programs, according to the Ministry of Education of China, will play a crucial role in facilitating interactions among governmental branches between China and many Southeast Asian countries. Even though the majority of Southeast Asian language programs have been developed since the 2000s, surprisingly little work has been published to address the current operational development of the Southeast Asian language programs. In which provinces can we find the majority of Southeast Asian language programs? What are the incentives and challenges of developing Southeast Asian language programs in individual Chinese provinces? To better understand the diverse developments of the Southeast Asian language programs, this paper examines how and why provincial locations may affect the institutional intended teaching and learning outcomes of the Southeast Asian language courses in contemporary China.

This paper takes as its title the overall theme of the 25^th Conference of The International Association for Intercultural Communication Studies (IAICS). Delivered as the presidential address at the opening of the conference, the paper first outlines the purpose and organization of IAICS, then dwells on the concepts of populism, nationalism, political rhetoric and intercultural communication.