Understanding China's Policy Narratives During Crisis: A Narrative Policy Framework Approach

Narratives play a crucial role in crisis communication. Using qualitative content analysis within the Narrative Policy Framework, this study examines the policy narratives in 372 open letters issued by Chinese local governments during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The findings reveal that Chinese local governments constructed a narrative in which the entire society was in crisis, while the government was comprehensively responding, a portrayal that varied according to the different stages of the crisis. As for the characters, public servants were constructed as both heroes and victims, the COVID‐19 was cast as the villain, and citizens were portrayed as both victims and heroes. In terms of the moral, the open letters urged public servants to fulfil their professional duties, citizens to comply with existing policies, and broader social forces to actively participate. Finally, regarding the plot, the open letters constructed three distinct plot types centred on the interactions between public servants, the COVID‐19, and citizens, which collectively manifested as an overarching “People's Campaign” plot. This study offers insights into crisis communication by public organisations in non‐Western contexts and contributes to the understanding of policy narratives during the crisis.