Most Taiwanese see Taiwan and China as distinct nations, despite cultural similarities, a study released yesterday by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center showed.
Center researcher Cheng Su-feng (鄭夙芬) revealed the results on the first day of a two-day academic symposium in Taipei on Taiwan’s democratization and free elections. It also marked the center’s 30th anniversary.
The study on the national identity of Taiwanese, which involved interviews conducted between 2000 and 2016, has found that while most people considered China to be the source of much of Taiwan’s culture, they considered China to be a separate country, Cheng said.
Photo: CNA
The research showed that while a collective identity had not yet taken shape in the nation, Taiwanese largely saw Taiwan as a country, she said.
While most felt that there was a connection with China based on migration and shared cultural elements, there was a portion of the public that conversely cited cultural differences as making the two nations distinct, Cheng said.
The study found that a growing number of Taiwanese view the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a distinctly separate country from the Republic of China (ROC), but there is a number of people who consider Taiwan as a part of “China,” without specifying whether they mean the PRC or the ROC, she said.
The study showed that Taiwan is still in a state of change, but a majority refer to themselves as Taiwanese to specify that they were born and raised in Taiwan, she said, adding that they also agreed that they were “willing to make contributions on behalf of Taiwan.”
“Looking at the discourse in Taiwan from the past 10 years describing Taiwan and China as opposing countries, it is clear that [seeing Taiwan as a separate country] has already become the mainstream,” Cheng said.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
RSS