The way the aforementioned social movements used the real-time, interactivity and far-reaching high tech of the Internet can all be found in the student demonstration on Liberty Square. Using the Internet, the student demonstrators connected to all of Taiwan and implemented deliberative democracy to make their voice heard.
Let this serve as a warning to both the establishment and its bureaucrats and mainstream media outlets: Passive inaction and selective or distorted reporting will no longer convince the public because the government and the mainstream media are no longer the only sources of news.
Of course, it cannot be denied that a successful movement needs not only technology, but also the power of discourse and organization as a foundation for its broadcasts. This is the challenge facing student movements when they are trying to overcome the external obstacles to getting their voices heard.
Hung Chen-ling is an assistant professor at National Taiwan University’s Graduate Institute of Journalism.
TRANSLATED BY TED YANG
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