Becoming Taiwanese: On the Emergence and Consolidation of Taiwanese Identity

<p>Over the past three decades, Taiwan&rsquo;s transition from&nbsp;<strong>harsh authoritarian rule</strong>&nbsp;to a&nbsp;<strong>thriving democracy</strong>&nbsp;led to the development of a&nbsp;<strong>consolidated identity</strong>&nbsp;that is&nbsp;<strong>more Taiwanese than Chinese</strong>. The rise of a distinct identity is a crucial factor in electoral politics in Taiwan.</p> <p>Taiwanese elections are never simply a matter of choosing a candidate from a preferred political party. Rather, electoral contests in the island country have always been an&nbsp;<strong>indicator of the voters&rsquo; national identity and attitudes towards cross-strait relations</strong>. While many outside observers still view the elections in Taiwan in binary terms &mdash; as a demonstration of pro-independence or pro-unification sympathies &mdash; recent elections have shown that Taiwanese voters are increasingly&nbsp;<strong>transgressing this cleavage</strong>. This is a product of&nbsp;<a href="https://esc.nccu.edu.tw/PageDoc/Detail?fid=7804&amp;id=6960" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>consolidation</strong></a><strong>&nbsp;of Taiwanese identity</strong>&nbsp;which makes Taiwanese people&nbsp;<a href="https://ws.mac.gov.tw/001/Upload/295/relfile/7681/6293/e273f5da-422f-40b9-9fef-b91ca6ecc5f0.pdf" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>wary</strong></a>&nbsp;of increasing their country&rsquo;s dependence on increasingly belligerent China.</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/@evc_5345/becoming-taiwanese-on-the-emergence-and-consolidation-of-taiwanese-identity-b45a3daff1b6"><strong>Website</strong></a></p>
Tags: Taiwanese