Switch to "empowerment"
Since the 1990s, with the big political and economic changes that Taiwan has gone through, the leaders of today's student movements have come up with a style of their own.
The biggest difference is that activists no longer put themselves up on a pedestal as "intellectuals," nor do they pride themselves as an "enlightened vanguard" in charge of introducing the latest thinking from abroad. Today's activists are more empathetic toward the downtrodden, and more respectful of the latter's ability to speak for themselves.
Chen Hsin-hsing, a Shih Hsin University assistant professor who was one of the five "commanders in the square" during the Wild Lily movement, attributes these changes mainly to the fact that, over the past 20 years, information technology has made very rapid progress, the public has become much savvier, and higher education has become accessible to all.
When Chen was in the student movement, for example, only about 30% of all high school graduates went on to university, and university students were seen as the future heavyweights of society. Those returning with a degree from abroad, in particular, wore halos as "the cream of the cream."
In that environment, all university students considered themselves "a cut above the rest," and this elitism naturally manifested itself in the movements they joined. They regarded themselves as spokespersons for the masses, while overlooking the real needs of the disadvantaged and discounting their ability to speak for themselves. As a result, the plans they made were often unworkable.
National Tsing Hua University professor Li Dingzan points to the example of the community development movement of the 1990s. A lot of idealistic youth fanned out into rural areas to work for a better world, but their efforts generally went for naught due to a wide gulf between the students and local residents.
The Xingang community development plan is a particularly well known case in point. The Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture and Education that spearheaded the movement originally intended to plant greenery along the road running by Fengtian Shrine in a bid to spur increased tourism, but they hadn't considered the parking needs of tourists or the space used by roadside vendors, and thus ran into furious opposition from local residents. Repeated efforts to iron out their differences ended in failure, and the plan was aborted.
Now that nearly 100% of those seeking to enter university are able to do so, however, students can no longer hold themselves out as elites. Even when they do participate on the front lines, they see themselves as simply a part of the people, not the leaders or saviors.
Youth Labor Union 95, for example, enjoys an excellent reputation in the labor movement. Established three years ago, it has already won numerous victories in fighting for the rights of some 100 young part-time workers and temps. One reason for their success is that the activists or their friends all share the experience of being exploited and are thus able to identify with the travails of those they're working to help. They regard themselves as partners of the workers as they help the latter to understand their rights and, when necessary, provide them with legal assistance, but they don't make decisions on behalf of the people coming to them for help, nor do they pressure the latter to join in their activities. (See "Youth Labor Union 95: A Voice for Young Disadvantaged Workers," p. 28.)
Chen opines that this transition from "leading" to "serving," and from "enlightening" to "empowering" was the only way for the activists to strike a responsive chord, and has been key to their success.
A big march to "protect the Lo Sheng Sanatorium" in April 2007 attracted thousands of students from around Taiwan. The marchers dropped to their knees every six paces to protest plans for forcible relocation of the sanatorium residents.