Changing Taiwanese Identities

by J. Bruce Jacobs (Editor), Peter Kang (Editor)

Overview

The peoples of Taiwan have been influenced by many different cultures and migrations throughout the island’s history. In the 20^th and early 21^st centuries especially it has been a stage for cultural and ethnic conflict, not least because of the arrival of mainland Chinese fleeing the Chinese Communist Revolution. The subsequent tensions between those who see Taiwan as a natural territory of China and those who would prefer to see it remain independent have brought to the fore questions of what it is to be ‘Taiwanese’.

This book addresses the question of how Taiwanese identities have changed after the Taiwanization process which began in the 1990s. It also examines the impact of this process on cross-strait relations between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China after the return of the Kuomintang to power after 2008 and the Sunflower movement in 2014. The various contributors between them cover a range of topics including the waves of migration to Taiwan, changes of political regimes, generational differences and social movements. Taken as a whole, this book presents a nuanced picture of the patchwork of identities which exist in contemporary Taiwan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138636781
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/15/2017
Series:	Routledge Research on Taiwan Series
Pages:	142
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

J. Bruce Jacobs is Emeritus Professor of Asian Languages and Studies at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. His recent books on Taiwan include Local Politics in Rural Taiwan under Dictatorship and Democracy (Norwalk, CT: EastBridge, 2008), Democratizing Taiwan (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2012), and The Kaohsiung Incident in Taiwan and Memoirs of a Foreign Big Beard (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2016). He has also edited the four-volume Critical Readings on China-Taiwan Relations (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2014). His current project is A History of Taiwan.

Peter Kang is Professor, International Master's Program in Asia-Pacific Area Studies / Department of Taiwan and Regional Studies, National Donghwa University, Taiwan. Email: [e-mail]

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: The Changing Identities of Taiwan’s Plains

Chapter 3: Seeking “Roots” in Taiwan: “Red Hair” and the Dutch Princess of Eight Treasures

Chapter 4: Languages under Colonization: The Taiwanese Language Movement

Chapter 5: Taiwanese Youth and National Identity under Ma Ying-jeou

Chapter 6: Lee Teng-hui and the formation of Taiwanese Identity

Chapter 7: Cyberspace and the Rise of Taiwanese Identity

Chapter 8: WANG Shi: Changes in the National Identification of a Third Generation Mainlander under Ma Ying-jeou

Editorial Reviews

'Here we have a smart book on an important but ever changing and complex reality: Taiwanese identities.' - Jean-Pierre Cabestan, Professor in Political Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

'An important ‘change of identity’ as outlined in Chapter 2 by Jolan Hsieh is that of the Plains Indigenous Peoples. Their changes, although occurring at similar stages to their settler counterparts, must be understood in their own context.' - Niki J.P. Alsford, Reader in Asia Pacific Studies, University of Central Lancashire, UK

From the Publisher