This thesis examines the emergence and current situation of community radio stations in Taiwan, which have been perceived as an important part of a media public sphere for people to access and participate in. It therefore needs to consider community and community radio stations in both Western and Taiwanese contexts, and work by Habermas and others concerning the `public sphere' with reference to the current situation. In-depth interviews, content analysis and document analysis have been used in collecting research data. The factors which influence the development of community radio stations as an aspect of the public sphere in Taiwanese society are shown to be the impact of the state, in the first place, and then commercial market pressures. In addition, the development of communication technology has shown its potential effects by re-defining the meaning of `community' and `radio station'. The research goes on to examine the institution and output of the community radio stations, their interaction with society, and their relationship with their users. We find that the development of community radio stations in Taiwan is characterised by diverse formations: they are public spaces for the members of community to share and discuss public issues; they are hybridised public spheres for people to share personal emotion and talk about private affairs; they are also an expansion of the broadcasting market to further commercial interests. However, this development of community radio stations reflects the social reality of the existing and necessarily plural public spheres