Second NCNA Chart: Three-Variable Measurements of Vietnam/Kampuchea Issues, 1977-1993

A few months back I posted a chart that details how the New China News Agency (新華社) associated issues relating to Vietnam with issues relating to other countries and international institutions from 1977 to 1993.

Today I've exported another chart from my Excel spreadsheet. It graphs all items that mention both Vietnam and Kampuchea, plus one other country/institution variable, over the same period. Here's the key:

Dark Blue: Vietnam, Kampuchea, and the Soviet Union/Russia

Magenta: Vietnam, Kampuchea, and the United States

Yellow: Vietnam, Kampuchea, and the United Nations

Light Blue: Vietnam, Kampuchea, and ASEAN

And here's the chart:


You can download the PDF version here.

Vietnam/Kampuchea articles that mentioned the Soviet Union vs. those that mentioned the U.S. were on a par in 1977 but sharply diverged in 1978 -- the year that Vietnam invaded Kampuchea. That year, NCNA strongly associated issues relating to those two countries with issues relating to the Soviet Union. The United States was mentioned in just 16% of the articles, and the United Nations, in just 5% of the articles.

However, over the next few years, NCNA associated less and less the Soviet Union with the crisis involving Vietnam and Kampuchea, as mentions of the U.N. rose. U.S. mentions remained sparse. ASEAN mentions peaked at around 30% of all Vietnam/Kampuchea items in the mid-1980s, but dropped off sharply in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Interestingly, after 1989, the year in which Vietnam withdrew from Kampuchea, the U.N. was mentioned more often than any other of the other countries or institutions. The Soviet Union/Russia by that time was seldom mentioned -- reflecting its reduced role in the region.