網路連結母國：在台馬來西亞留學生的社群媒體使用與離散國族主義

Abstract

本論文借助Youna Kim（2011）一篇〈Diasporic nationalism and the media: Asian women on the move〉的研究中對離散國族主義（diasporic nationalism）的討論，將在台馬來西亞留學生視為一個離散群體，進一步探討該群體在台灣這個異國環境中求學時期的社群媒體使用。包含他們如何在臉書上分享母國（馬來西亞）的景觀或訊息，這個過程是如何形塑在台馬來西亞留學生對母國（馬來西亞）的認同以及離散國族主義的生成。Youna Kim（2011）指出的離散國族主義的形成包含了參與了「跨國的流動」的人們，由於在異國感受到「社會排斥」或陌生感，因而在此過程中產生「反應式」（reactionary）的國族主義。

本研究發現，社群媒體確實提供了在台馬來西亞留學生一個很重要的情境，這個情境給予他們發展對母國（馬來西亞）的認同與離散國族主義有很大的推動效果。首先，在台馬來西亞留學生在社群媒體上使用了四種談論國家（talking the nation）的方式，包含「宣稱我是誰」、「向他人推廣母國」、「母國特色的反思與再認同」以及「對凝聚國族事件的關注」；以及兩種差異的指認：「多元文化」和「社會進步」。以上奠基於他們在跨國流動中面對跨國文化差異的「反應」。這個「反應」的過程也成為形塑離散國族主義的重要條件，引導他們體認並強化自己對馬來西亞的認同與情感。加上在台灣的生活過程中難免遇到「社會排除」或「歧視誤會」等負面經驗，也成為在台馬來西亞留學生社群媒體上的有關母國分享的原因。

此外，透過2018年馬來西亞大選時期在台馬來西亞留學生於社群媒體上的動態，如：大選相關Hashtag的使用或「黑手指」等相當於國族符號的大選景觀的散播；或是分享有關選舉知識、指南性的訊息所聚集的「網路公眾」等效果，皆賦予在台馬來西亞留學生在社群媒體上，能更直接地去捍衛其母國並彰顯國族主義。也使得離散國族主義之中的「反應式的」（reactionary）理念與情感能在網路上展現並與其他人線上連結，讓在台馬來西亞留學生透過社群媒體的使用，也實現了網路國族主義。最後，本研究發現，二十幾歲新世代的馬來西亞華人青年的母國意識指向是「馬來西亞」。對他們來說，他們有著屬於華人的「種族認同」，但這是生來所屬的分類，因此履行著屬於華人的習慣和觀念。但在國族的認同上，對於現在世代的馬來西亞華人來說，母國認同絕對是在「馬來西亞」。Applying the concept of “Diaspora”, supplemented by the discussion of Diasporic Nationalism in the study of Kim (2011), this study explores how Malaysian students using social media during the time they study in Taiwan to establish the identity with the home country Malaysia and to generate the diasporic nationalism.

This study reveals that social media use does create a fundamental condition for Malaysian students in Taiwan to inspire their identity as well as diasporic nationalism. On the social media, they mainly use four ways to strengthen the diasporic nationalism of mother country, including “self-declaration”, “promoting mother country to others”, “rethinking and re-identify the uniqueness of the mother country” and “focusing on the events that gather the nation”. Moreover, “Multiculturalism” and “ideological progress” are two critical criteria for distinguishing the differences while they are experiencing the transnational mobility between Malaysia and Taiwan. The ability to identify those differences definitely helps them to consolidate their Malaysian nationalism. The negative experiences such as “social exclusion” and “misunderstanding” in Taiwan have been believed to become a reason that Malaysian students will share the mother country on the social media. By using the method such as self-ridicule, they show how they react to various of situation they face in the transnational movement. The process of reaction has also become a prominent part of the development of diasporic nationalism.

Furthermore, the updates on the social media during the 2018 Malaysian general election can also demonstrate the nationalism of those Malaysian students in Taiwan. For instance, sharing the election-related hashtag or pictures to create spectacles on the social media. Also, encouraging people to vote by sharing information about the election. In addition, this study also indicates the term “mother country” refers to “Malaysia” not “China” anymore to new generations of Malaysian Chinese.