Internet, Computer-Mediated Communications and Gay Rights Movements in Taiwan

• Published date: 14 October 2011
• Date: 14 October 2011
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S0275-7982(2011)0000006011
• Pages: 161-179
• Author: Chung-Yi Cheng,Kenneth C.C. Yang

INTERNET, COMPUTER-

MEDIATED COMMUNICATIONS

AND GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENTS

IN TAIWAN

Chung-Yi Cheng and Kenneth C. C. Yang

ABSTRACT

The rise of the Internet has facilitated net activism among many virtual

gay communities in Taiwan. The communication role that the Internet

plays is in particular vital, because homosexuality is still considered a

taboo in Taiwan’s society. Cyberspace created by the Internet forms a

unique ‘‘space’’ where local homosexuals can share their experience of

being gays with each other. The purposes of this chapter are intended to

examine how the Internet facilitated the formation, promotion, and

success of gay rights movements among homosexual communities in

Taiwan. This chapter uses the Chang-Der Street Police Harassment

Incident as a case study to elaborate the Internet’s communication role in

mobilizing local gay populations to pursue their gay rights. It also

investigates the Internet’s strategic role as a communication medium in

gay rights movements. The case analysis and in-depth interviews help

identify several key functions that the Internet can play: to exchange and

share information, to organize and coordinate gay rights movements, to

record and store historical information, and to lead social and value

Human Rights and Media

Studies in Communications, Volume 6, 161–179

Copyright r2011 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited

All rights of reproduction in any form reserved

ISSN: 0275-7982/doi:10.1108/S0275-7982(2011)0000006011

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changes in the future. This chapter explores the potential of the Internet

in online community mobilization, an early look at virtual community and

net activism.

INTRODUCTION

The application of new information communications technologies to

address the needs of local communities has grown rapidly over the past

several years in the United States and other parts of the world. Pioneering

community-networking projects in the United States included Berkeley

Community Memory (Levy, 1984) and Big Sky Telegraph (Agre, 1997;

Odasz, 1991). Contrary to many commercial endeavors in infrastructure

developments, these projects were specifically developed and implemented to

help local communities to make better use of new information communica-

tions technologies. Similar projects that aim to capitalize on the potential of

new technologies also appeared in Taiwan. Different groups rushed to set up

their own computer bulletin boards or web sites to meet the needs of their

communities, ranging from feminists, the disabled, political parties,

students, dissidents, literary societies, and movie fans.

1

The use of emerging information communications technologies to serve

the needs of communities is nothing new if one looks from the long history

of communications evolution in past decades. The introduction of cable

broadcasting systems was intended to deliver television signals to commu-

nities located in remote mountainous areas (Pool, 1984). Similarly, the

Internet has been found to be an excellent tool for community building and

democratic participation of community members because of its low cost and

technical expertise required for operation (Schuler, 1997).

Barber (1998–1999, p. 584) argued that new communication technologies

such as the Internet can ‘‘potentially enhance lateral communication among

citizens, can open access to information by all, and can furnish citizens with

communication links across distances that once precluded direct democ-

racy.’’ Manuel Castells (1996, p. 374) elaborated this perspective by pointing

out that ‘‘[w]hat characterizes the new system of communication yis its

inclusiveness and comprehensiveness of all cultural expressions.’’ He argued

that communication through the Internet ‘‘weakens considerably the

symbolic power of traditional senders external to the system, transmitting

through historically encoded social habits: religion, morality, authority,

traditional values, political ideology’’ (Castells, 1996, pp. 374–375).

CHUNG-YI CHENG AND KENNETH C. C. YANG162