Taiwan's ethnicities and their representation on the Internet

Abstract

This paper examines various Web applications of the four 'officially' recognized ethnicities in Taiwan and aims to identify the links between information and communication technologies (ICTs), ethnic identities and issues related to Taiwanization and its contestation. To give some background, the paper introduces Taiwan's more recent multiculturalist policies, which should be seen as part of the broader Taiwanization and nation-building project. These multiculturalist/ ethnicity-related policies, directed toward the wider population as well as the specific ethnicities, are presented on the Internet by various government organizations and government-supported organizations. This paper also employs a discursive analysis of popular websites and blogs to examine the roles played by various societal and civic actors (ranging from NGOs to individuals) within Taiwan's ethnicity discourse.