Our sign read, "We, in USA, Ohio University, Oppose Media Monopoly, Guard Taiwan, Defend Freedom and Democracy."
Our sign read, "We, in USA, Ohio University, Oppose Media Monopoly, Guard Taiwan, Defend Freedom and Democracy."
This piece responded to the Anti-Media Monopoly Movement in Taiwan.
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In July 2012, several social activist groups initiated this movement to opposed a media merger. Want Want China Times Group, a major media corporation, had planned to purchase a TV broadcast and internet operator, CNS. Want Want China Times's mother company, Want Want Holdings Limited, has trade relations with China. Therefore, critics were concerned that this merger would compromise Taiwan's democratic integrity. Projected censorship and centralization of news information caused extreme unease.
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The “I am a Student, I Oppose Want Want” movement was part of the Anti-Media Monopoly Movement. Students across Taiwan took self portraits and posted them on Facebook. Soon, pictures of students holding signs of “I Am a Student, I Oppose Want Want” filled the online forum. Overseas students expressed solidarity with the “We Stand in Different Corners of the World, Guarding Taiwan” action. In these images taken around the globe, Taiwanese students stated their city locations, and often institution names. “Taiwan is Not for Sale,” “We Reject Media Monster,” and “Defend Media Freedom” were common slogans. On December 1, 2012, I rallied Ohio University's Taiwanese students to participate. The choice of College Green as the stage of our protest was significant. It is the usual meeting spot for student protest marches on campus.
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In this movement, students utilized the Internet and social media to intervene social events and disseminate ideas. This approach is similar to Tactical Media. Coined in 1996, Tactical Media denotes a form of media activism centered on temporary, hit-and-run interventions in the media sphere. Often a blend of art and activism, Tactical Media creates spectacles through the production of information.