Governance Capacity and Legitimacy: Unpacking Local Governments’ Information Disclosure Strategies During Covid-19 in China

This study explores local governments’ Weibo – based info disclosure during health crises like COVID-19, using governance capacity and legitimacy frameworks. It identifies three strategies: high-quality, focused and balanced disclosure. Cities like Hangzhou and Harbin show these are influenced by disclosure capacity and legitimacy. High-quality disclosers focus on livelihood info, while focused ones prioritize epidemic info. Balanced disclosers are in-between. This analysis highlights the interplay between governance capacity and legitimacy in local government information strategies during health crises.