Taiwanese localization movement
Encyclopedia
Taiwanization also known as the Taiwanese localization movement, is a political term used in Taiwan to emphasize the importance of a separate Taiwanese culture rather than to regard Taiwan as solely an appendage of China
. This involves the teaching of the history of Taiwan
, geography
, and culture
from a Taiwan-centric perspective, as well as promoting languages locally established in Taiwan, including Taiwanese Hokkien (Taiwanese), Hakka, and aboriginal languages
.
Originally part of the Taiwan independence
movement and related to the Taiwan Name Rectification Campaign, some of Taiwanization's aims are now endorsed by some supporters of Chinese unification on Taiwan.
The localization movement has been expressed in forms such as the use of language
or dialect
in the broadcast media and entire channels devoted to aboriginal
and Hakka
affairs. Textbook
s have been rewritten by scholars to more prominently emphasize Taiwan. The political compromise that has been reached is to teach both the history of Taiwan and the history of mainland China.
Some Taiwanese-owned companies or organizations established in earlier times have names containing the words "China
" or "Chinese". They have been encouraged in recent years to change the word "China" in their names to "Taiwan" as an act of Taiwanization. This campaign for changing the names is known as the "Name Rectification Campaign" or "Taiwan Name Rectification". Many Taiwan-based companies in international sectors already identify themselves as "Taiwan"-based for clarity's sake. This keeps international customers from confusing them with an enterprise based in the People's Republic of China. Other Taiwan-based companies decline to change to a "Taiwanese" name because of expense or the political views held by important clients and company leaders.
ese rule of Taiwan from 1895 to 1945, when groups organized to lobby the Imperial Japanese government for greater Taiwanese autonomy and home rule. Before the Kuomintang
(KMT) entirely retreated to Taiwan, the Taiwan home-rule groups were decimated in the wake of the 228 Incident
of 1947. The Kuomintang viewed Taiwan primarily as a base to retake mainland China and quickly tried to subdue potential political opposition on the island. The Kuomintang did little to promote a unique Taiwanese identity; often newly-immigrated Chinese or "mainlanders" as they were called, working in administrative positions lived in neighborhoods where they were segregated from the Taiwanese. Others, especially poorer refugees, were shunned by the Hoklo Taiwanese and lived among aborigines instead. The mainlanders often learned Hokkien. However, since Mandarin was enforced as the official language of the Republic of China and Taiwanese was not allowed to be spoken in schools, the mainlanders who learned Taiwanese found their new language skills to diminish. As Taiwanese, or any language other than Mandarin, was forbidden in the military posts, many mainlanders whose family lived in martial villages only spoke Mandarin and perhaps their home language (e.g. Cantonese). The promotion of Chinese nationalism
within Taiwan and the fact that the ruling group on Taiwan were considered outsiders by some were the reasons cited for both the Taiwan independence
movement and Taiwanization.
In the 1970s and 1980s there was a shift in power away from the Kuomintang
to people native to Taiwan. This, combined with cultural liberalization and the increasing remoteness of the possibility of retaking mainland China, led to a cultural and political movement which emphasized a Taiwan-centered view of history and culture rather than one which was China-centered or even, as before 1946, Japan-centered. Taiwanization was strongly supported by President Lee Teng-hui
.
The Bentuhua or localization/indigenization movement was sparked in the mid-1970s with the growing expression of ethnic discontent due to unequal distribution of political and cultural power between mainlanders and Taiwan
ese people. Beginning in the 1960s, Taiwan was enveloped by the problems of rapid industrial development, rural abandonment, labor disputes and the uneven distribution of access to wealth and social power. These changes, combined with the loss of several key allies, forced the KMT regime to institute limited reforms. The reforms permitted under Chiang Ching-kuo allowed indigenization to increase as leading dissidents generated a response to the government’s failures. The dissident groups, united under the "dangwai", or “outside the party” banner, called for the government to accept the reality that it was only the government of Taiwan and not China. The key demands of the "dangwai" involved instituting democracy and seeking international recognition as a sovereign state. Taiwanese demanded full civil rights as guaranteed under the ROC constitution and equal political rights as those experienced by the Mainlander elite.
The Taiwanese cultural elite fully promoted the development of Xiang tu literature and cultural activities, including rediscovering Taiwanese nativist literature written under Japanese colonial rule. The tangwai movement revived symbols of Taiwanese resistance to Japanese rule in the effort to mobilize ethnic Taiwanese. The opposition to the KMT’s China-centered cultural policies resulted in dissidents crafting new national-historical narratives that placed the island of Taiwan itself at the center of the island's history. The Taiwanese emerged as a frequently colonized and often oppressed people. The concept of bentuhua was finally expressed in the cultural domain in the premise of Taiwan as a place with a unique society, culture and history. This principle has been largely adopted for understanding Taiwan’s cultural representation and expressed in a variety of cultural activities, including music, film and the literary and performing arts
.
The pressures of indigenization and the growing acceptance of a unique Taiwanese cultural identity have met opposition from more conservative elements of Taiwan society. Critics argue that the new perspective creates a “false” identity rooted in ethnic nationalism as opposed to an “authentic” Chinese identity, which is primordial and inherent. Many mainlanders living on Taiwan complain that their own culture is marginalized by bentuhua, and initially expressed fear of facing growing alienation. In the past decade these complaints have subsided somewhat as Taiwan increasingly views itself as a pluralistic society that embraces many cultures and recognizes the rights of all citizens.
In the mid-to-late 1990s the gestures of Taiwanization were increasingly adopted by pro-unification figures who, while supporting the Chinese nationalism of Chiang Kai-shek
, saw it as appropriate, or at least advisable, to display more appreciation for cultures of Taiwan. Pro-unification politicians such as James Soong
, the former head of the Government Information Office who once oversaw the limitation of Taiwanese dialects, began speaking in Hoklo
on semi-formal occasions. Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou
, a mainland China native and then chairman of the KMT, used Taiwanese for a portion of his address at the 2-28 Peace Park
on 2005-02-28.
(Taiwan) government beginning in 2000 to distance itself from China
by taking actions such as removing Chinese influence from items within Taiwan control. While the Taiwanese localization movement
may view such efforts as emphasizing the importance of Taiwan's culture, this section addresses the perspective of those who likely support the reunification
of all of Greater China
under a single political entity.
forces occupied Taiwan and soon began an effort to sinicize the population. The Taiwan urban elites were wiped out in the 228 Incident
. Mandarin Chinese
became the only language allowed in media and school to the exclusion of Taiwanese languages
. Public institutions and corporations were given names that included the words "China" or "Chinese". School history and geography lessons focused on China with little attention paid to Taiwan. Street names in Taipei were changed from their original names to Chinese names that reflected the geography of China and Kuomintang ideals.
With end of martial law in 1987 and the introduction of democracy in the 1990s after the Wild Lily student movement
, an effort began to re-assert Taiwanese identity and culture while trying to get rid of many Chinese influences imposed by the Kuomintang
.
began making statements such as "Taiwan culture is not a branch of Chinese culture" and "Taiwan's southern Fujian dialect is not a branch of Fujian
's southern Fujian dialect, but rather a 'Taiwan dialect'.". Taiwan radio and TV increased their Taiwan dialect (southern Fujian dialect
) programming. These efforts were perceived in China as initial efforts towards breaking the ties between Taiwan culture and Chinese culture by downplaying the long-term Chinese cultural and historic identification in that region.
In April 2003, the Committee for Promoting Mandarin, which was part of Taiwan's Ministry of Education, released a legislation proposal entitled "Language Equality Law." The proposed legislation sought to designate fourteen languages as the national languages of Taiwan. In mainland China, this was seen as an effort to diminish the use of standard Mandarin
and its cultural influences in favor of revising the cultural and psychological foundations on the island of Taiwan by using other languages. The draft was not adopted.
The textbook issue was raised in November 2004, when a group of lawmakers, legislative candidates and supporters of the pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union
(TSU) urged the ROC Ministry of Education to publish Taiwan-centric history and geography textbooks for school children as part of the Taiwanization campaign. Although the resulting draft outline of history course for regular senior middle schools was criticized by a variety of groups, President Chen Shui-bian
responded that "to seek the truth of Taiwan's history" is not equal to desinicization nor an act of independence and indicated that he would not interfere with the history editing and compilation efforts.
The proposals to revise Taiwan's history textbooks were condemned in February 2007 by the People's Republic of China
's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council
as being part of the desinicization campaign. In July 2007, the Taiwan Ministry of Education released a study that found 5,000 textbook terms, some relating to Chinese culture, as being "unsuitable". The Kuomintang
saw this as part of a textbook censorship desinicization campaign. The proposals have not been adopted.
In 2002, the "Name Rectification Campaign" made significant advances in replacing the terms "China," "Republic of China," or "Taipei" with the term "Taiwan" on official documents, in the names of Taiwan-registered organizations, companies, and public enterprises on the island, and in the names of businesses stationed abroad. In 2003, the ROC Foreign Ministry issued a new passport
having the word "Taiwan" printed in English on its cover. Moreover, in January 2005, Taiwan adopted a Westernized writing format for government documents, denied that it was an attempt at desinicization, and promoted the actions as "a concerted effort at globalizing Taiwan's ossified bureaucracies and upgrading the nation's competitive edge."
Campaign in this area continued in March 2006, where the Democratic Progressive Party
sought to change the Republic of China year designation used in Taiwan to the Gregorian calendar
. Instead of the year 2006 being referred to as the "95th year of the ROC" -- with the 1912 founding of the Republic of China being referred to as "the first year of the ROC" -- the year 2006 would be identified as 2006 in official usage such as on banknotes, IDs, national health insurance cards, driver's licenses, diplomas and wedding certificates. This was viewed as the government trying another angle for desinicization by removing any trace of China from Taiwan.
In February 2007, the term "China" was replaced by the term "Taiwan" on Taiwan postage stamps to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the 228 Incident
that began on February 28, 1947 that was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang (KMT). In that same month, the name of the official postal service
of Taiwan was changed from the Chunghwa Post Co.
to The Taiwan Post Co. The company's name was changed back on 1 August 2008, and the names on the postal stamps were reversed in late 2008, soon after the Kuomintang
(KMT) candidate Ma Ying-Jeou
won back presidency and ended 8 years of the Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP) rule.
In March 2007, the name plate of the ROC Embassy in Panama was revised both to include the word "Taiwan" in parentheses between the words "the Republic of China" and "Embassy" in both of its Chinese and Spanish titles, and to omit the ROC national emblem.
Supporters of the name-change movement argue that the Republic of China no longer exists, as it did not include Taiwan when it was founded in 1912 and mainland China is now controlled by the Chinese Communist Party as the People's Republic of China. Furthermore, the ambiguity surrounding the legal status of Taiwan
as a result of the Treaty of peace with Japan and Treaty of San Francisco
after World War II, means that the Republic of China was merely a military occupier of Taiwan. As Japan relinquished its sovereignty over Taiwan without passing it to a specific country, it is argued that Taiwan ought to be deemed a land belonging to no country, whose international status has yet to be defined.
announced that Taiwan would seek a new constitution suitable for the Taiwan people that would turn Taiwan into a "normal country." In explaining what a normal country was in the context of desinicization and the 1992 One-China policy
, Chen Shui-bian stated,
In response, the Pan-Blue Coalition
within Taiwan sought to portray President Chen Shui-bian and his Democratic Progressive Party
as radicals intent on implementing revolutionary desinicization that would disenfranchise various ethnic groups within Taiwan who have an affinity for China and the Chinese culture.
In February 2007, the Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP) adopted a resolution to identify those responsible for the 1947 228 Incident
massacre of Taiwanese people in order to charge them for war crime and crime against humanity. The effort also sought to remove the "remnants of dictatorship" traced to that sixty-year-old incident. This was seen in mainland China as being in line with a series of desinicization actions by both the Taiwan government and the DPP to rid both Chiang and China from the Taiwan public scene. Some applauded this courageous act of seeking justice. Others criticized the request, seeing it as "rubbing salt into wounds" by playing up the historical issues for political gain.
and built in 1893 by Qing Empire-appointed Governor of Taiwan Province
Liu Mingchuan
was part of the government's call for desinicization through removal of the Chinese site.
In July 2007, President Chen Shui-bian announced that he would allow mainland Chinese diplomas or students into Taiwan during the rest of his presidential term. This, however, was not achieved.
.
In April 2002, the Communist Party of China
(CPC) noted both active efforts on the part of Taiwan to push ahead its Taiwanization policy and intensified United States
-Taiwan military cooperation. In response, the CPC publicly reminded its military to be prepared to achieve its goal of "Chinese reunification
" (intended to mean making Taiwan a part of the People's Republic of China) through military means. In addition, the CPC sought assistance from the United States to address the matter with Taiwan. As part of making the upcoming U.S. visit by then vice-president Hu Jintao
go smoothly, the United States cautioned the Chen Shui-bian
administration not to "go too far" in cross-Strait relations
.
In April 2005, the Communist Party of China
(CPC) general secretary Hu Jintao and the former ROC Vice President and then chairman of the Kuomintang
party (KMT) Lien Chan
shook hands. Billed as a historic moment, this was the first handshake by the top leaders of the KMT and the CPC in 60 years. In remarking on the handshake, chairman Chan noted that it was a turning point where the KMT and the CPC would work together to bring about peaceful cross-strait relations
and specifically distanced the KMT from Taiwan independence
and desinicization efforts.
's death, denouncing it as the "independent Taiwan movement" (Chinese: 台獨運動). Vocal opponents are primarily the 1949-generation Mainlanders, or older generations of Mainlanders living on Taiwan that had spent their formative years and adulthood on the pre-1949 mainland Republic of China, and native Taiwanese who identify with a pan-Han Chinese cultural identity. They included people ranging from academics like Chien Mu, reputed to be the last prominent Chinese intellectual opposing the conventional wisdom
take on the May Fourth Movement
, politicians like Lien Chan
, from a family with a long history of active pan-Chinese patriotism despite being native Taiwanese, to gang mobsters like Chang An-le, a leader of the notorious United Bamboo Gang
.
The opposing voices were subsequently confined to the fringe in the mid 2000s Taiwan itself. Issues persist, particularly supporters of the Pan-Blue coalition
, which advocates retaining a strong link to mainland China, dispute over such issues as what histories to teach. Nonetheless both of the two major political forces in Taiwan reached a consensus, and the movement has overwhelming support among the population. This is in part due to the 1949-generation Mainlanders have gradually passed on the scene, and politicians supporting and opposing the Taiwanese independence movement both realize a majority of Taiwan's current residents, either because they are born in Taiwan to Mainlander parents with no collective memories of the ancestral homes, or they are native Taiwanese thus feeling no historical connotations with the entire pre-1949 Republic of China on mainland China, support the movement as such.
On mainland China, the PRC
government has on the surface adopted a neutral policy on Taiwanization and its highest level leaders publicly proclaim it does not consider the Taiwanization movement to be either a violation of its One China Policy or equivalent to the independence movement. Nonetheless, the state-owned media and academics employed by organizations such as universities' Institutes of Taiwan Studies or the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
(CASS) periodically release study results, academic journal articles, or editorials denouncing the movement as "the cultural arm of Taiwanese independence movement" (Chinese: 文化台獨) with the government's tacit approval, showing the PRC government's opposition stance towards Taiwanization in truth.
Nowadays another front of significant opposition to the Taiwanization movement remains in the overseas Chinese
communities in Southeast Asia and the Western world, who identify more with the historic pre-1949 mainland Republic of China or pre-Taiwanization movement ROC on Taiwan that oriented itself as the rump legitimate government of China. A great many number are themselves refugees and dissidents which fled mainland China, either directly or through Hong Kong or Taiwan, during the founding of the People's Republic of China and the subsequent periods of destructive policies such as the Land Reform
, the Anti-Rightist Movement
, Great Leap Forward
, or the Cultural Revolution
, Hong Kong
anti-Communist immigrants who fled Hong Kong in light of the Handover to the PRC in 1997, or Mainlanders living in Taiwan who moved to the West in response to the Taiwanization movement. Conversely, the current population of Taiwan regard these overseas Chinese as foreigners akin to Singaporean
Chinese, as opposed to the pre-Taiwanization era when they were labeled as fellow Chinese compatriots. The PRC has capitalized on this window of opportunity in making overtures to the traditionally anti-Communist overseas Chinese communities, including gestures in supporting traditional Chinese culture and dumping explicitly Communist tones in overseas communications. This results in a decline of active political opposition to the PRC from overseas Chinese when compared with the times before the Taiwanization movement in Taiwan.
In Hong Kong, Taiwanization movements have pushed localization or pro-Chinese Communist tilts among the traditionally pro-Republic of China individuals and organizations. An prominent example is Chu Hai College, which the Hong Kong SAR government officially recognized its academic degree programmes in May 2004, and registered as an "Approved Post-secondary College" with the Hong Kong SAR government since July of the same year. It has since been renamed the Chu Hai College of Higher Education (珠海學院) and no longer registered with the Republic of China's Ministry of Education. New students from 2004 have been awarded degrees in the right of Hong Kong rather than Taiwan.
, Chinese reunification
, and supporters of Chinese culture. Pro-independence supporters argue that Taiwan is and should be enhancing an identity which is separate from the Chinese one, and in more extreme cases advocates the removal of Chinese "imprints". Meanwhile, some would argue that Taiwan should create a distinctive identity that either includes certain Chinese aspect or exists within a broader Chinese one. Those who support Chinese reunification call for a policy of enhancing the Chinese identity. Groups that support Chinese reunification
and Chinese nationalism
have emphasized the distinction between Taiwanization and what some perceive as desinicization
and argued that they do not oppose the promotion of a Taiwanese identity, but rather oppose the use of that identity to separate itself from a broader Chinese one. On the other hand, a few apolitical groups have pointed out that most of the political factions merely use these points to win support for elections.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. This involves the teaching of the history of Taiwan
History of Taiwan
Taiwan was first populated by Negrito, and then Austronesian people. It was colonized by the Dutch in the 17th century, followed by an influx of Han Chinese including Hakka immigrants from areas of Fujian and Guangdong of mainland China, across the Taiwan Strait...
, geography
Geography of Taiwan
Taiwan is a medium-sized archipelago in East Asia, located at 23°30" N, 121°00" E and running through the middle of the Tropic of Cancer . It makes up the majority of the territories effectively under the administration of the Republic of China .- Formation :The island of Taiwan was formed...
, and culture
Culture of Taiwan
The culture of Taiwan is a blend of Confucianist Han Chinese, Japanese, European, American, global, local, and Taiwanese aborigines cultures, which are often perceived in both traditional and modern understandings...
from a Taiwan-centric perspective, as well as promoting languages locally established in Taiwan, including Taiwanese Hokkien (Taiwanese), Hakka, and aboriginal languages
Formosan languages
The Formosan languages are the languages of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Taiwanese aborigines currently comprise about 2% of the island's population. However, far fewer can still speak their ancestral language, after centuries of language shift...
.
Originally part of the Taiwan independence
Taiwan independence
Taiwan independence is a political movement whose goals are primarily to formally establish the Republic of Taiwan by renaming or replacing the Republic of China , form a Taiwanese national identity, reject unification and One country, two systems with the People's Republic of China and a Chinese...
movement and related to the Taiwan Name Rectification Campaign, some of Taiwanization's aims are now endorsed by some supporters of Chinese unification on Taiwan.
The localization movement has been expressed in forms such as the use of language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
or dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
in the broadcast media and entire channels devoted to aboriginal
Taiwanese aborigines
Taiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Although Taiwanese indigenous groups hold a variety of creation myths, recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han...
and Hakka
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
affairs. Textbook
Textbook
A textbook or coursebook is a manual of instruction in any branch of study. Textbooks are produced according to the demands of educational institutions...
s have been rewritten by scholars to more prominently emphasize Taiwan. The political compromise that has been reached is to teach both the history of Taiwan and the history of mainland China.
Some Taiwanese-owned companies or organizations established in earlier times have names containing the words "China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
" or "Chinese". They have been encouraged in recent years to change the word "China" in their names to "Taiwan" as an act of Taiwanization. This campaign for changing the names is known as the "Name Rectification Campaign" or "Taiwan Name Rectification". Many Taiwan-based companies in international sectors already identify themselves as "Taiwan"-based for clarity's sake. This keeps international customers from confusing them with an enterprise based in the People's Republic of China. Other Taiwan-based companies decline to change to a "Taiwanese" name because of expense or the political views held by important clients and company leaders.
History and development
The roots of the localization movement began during the JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese rule of Taiwan from 1895 to 1945, when groups organized to lobby the Imperial Japanese government for greater Taiwanese autonomy and home rule. Before the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
(KMT) entirely retreated to Taiwan, the Taiwan home-rule groups were decimated in the wake of the 228 Incident
228 Incident
The 228 Incident, also known as the 228 Massacre, was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on February 27, 1947, and was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang government. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from 10,000 to 30,000 or more...
of 1947. The Kuomintang viewed Taiwan primarily as a base to retake mainland China and quickly tried to subdue potential political opposition on the island. The Kuomintang did little to promote a unique Taiwanese identity; often newly-immigrated Chinese or "mainlanders" as they were called, working in administrative positions lived in neighborhoods where they were segregated from the Taiwanese. Others, especially poorer refugees, were shunned by the Hoklo Taiwanese and lived among aborigines instead. The mainlanders often learned Hokkien. However, since Mandarin was enforced as the official language of the Republic of China and Taiwanese was not allowed to be spoken in schools, the mainlanders who learned Taiwanese found their new language skills to diminish. As Taiwanese, or any language other than Mandarin, was forbidden in the military posts, many mainlanders whose family lived in martial villages only spoke Mandarin and perhaps their home language (e.g. Cantonese). The promotion of Chinese nationalism
Chinese nationalism
Chinese nationalism , sometimes synonymous with Chinese patriotism refers to cultural, historiographical, and political theories, movements and beliefs that assert the idea of a cohesive, unified Chinese people and culture in a unified country known as China...
within Taiwan and the fact that the ruling group on Taiwan were considered outsiders by some were the reasons cited for both the Taiwan independence
Taiwan independence
Taiwan independence is a political movement whose goals are primarily to formally establish the Republic of Taiwan by renaming or replacing the Republic of China , form a Taiwanese national identity, reject unification and One country, two systems with the People's Republic of China and a Chinese...
movement and Taiwanization.
In the 1970s and 1980s there was a shift in power away from the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
to people native to Taiwan. This, combined with cultural liberalization and the increasing remoteness of the possibility of retaking mainland China, led to a cultural and political movement which emphasized a Taiwan-centered view of history and culture rather than one which was China-centered or even, as before 1946, Japan-centered. Taiwanization was strongly supported by President Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui is a politician of the Republic of China . He was the 7th, 8th, and 9th-term President of the Republic of China and Chairman of the Kuomintang from 1988 to 2000. He presided over major advancements in democratic reforms including his own re-election which marked the first direct...
.
The Bentuhua or localization/indigenization movement was sparked in the mid-1970s with the growing expression of ethnic discontent due to unequal distribution of political and cultural power between mainlanders and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese people. Beginning in the 1960s, Taiwan was enveloped by the problems of rapid industrial development, rural abandonment, labor disputes and the uneven distribution of access to wealth and social power. These changes, combined with the loss of several key allies, forced the KMT regime to institute limited reforms. The reforms permitted under Chiang Ching-kuo allowed indigenization to increase as leading dissidents generated a response to the government’s failures. The dissident groups, united under the "dangwai", or “outside the party” banner, called for the government to accept the reality that it was only the government of Taiwan and not China. The key demands of the "dangwai" involved instituting democracy and seeking international recognition as a sovereign state. Taiwanese demanded full civil rights as guaranteed under the ROC constitution and equal political rights as those experienced by the Mainlander elite.
The Taiwanese cultural elite fully promoted the development of Xiang tu literature and cultural activities, including rediscovering Taiwanese nativist literature written under Japanese colonial rule. The tangwai movement revived symbols of Taiwanese resistance to Japanese rule in the effort to mobilize ethnic Taiwanese. The opposition to the KMT’s China-centered cultural policies resulted in dissidents crafting new national-historical narratives that placed the island of Taiwan itself at the center of the island's history. The Taiwanese emerged as a frequently colonized and often oppressed people. The concept of bentuhua was finally expressed in the cultural domain in the premise of Taiwan as a place with a unique society, culture and history. This principle has been largely adopted for understanding Taiwan’s cultural representation and expressed in a variety of cultural activities, including music, film and the literary and performing arts
Taiwanese literature movement
The Taiwanese literature movement refers to the effort of authors, poets, dramatists, musicians, and publishers in Taiwan to establish recognition of a distinctly Taiwanese body of literature...
.
The pressures of indigenization and the growing acceptance of a unique Taiwanese cultural identity have met opposition from more conservative elements of Taiwan society. Critics argue that the new perspective creates a “false” identity rooted in ethnic nationalism as opposed to an “authentic” Chinese identity, which is primordial and inherent. Many mainlanders living on Taiwan complain that their own culture is marginalized by bentuhua, and initially expressed fear of facing growing alienation. In the past decade these complaints have subsided somewhat as Taiwan increasingly views itself as a pluralistic society that embraces many cultures and recognizes the rights of all citizens.
In the mid-to-late 1990s the gestures of Taiwanization were increasingly adopted by pro-unification figures who, while supporting the Chinese nationalism of Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
, saw it as appropriate, or at least advisable, to display more appreciation for cultures of Taiwan. Pro-unification politicians such as James Soong
James Soong
James Soong Chu-yu , is a politician in the Republic of China on Taiwan. He founded and chairs the People First Party, a smaller and more conservative party in the Kuomintang -led Pan-Blue Coalition....
, the former head of the Government Information Office who once oversaw the limitation of Taiwanese dialects, began speaking in Hoklo
Hoklo
Hoklo can mean the following:* The Hoklo people, a geographically widespread cultural-linguistic group originating in southeast China , also called Hokkien.* Min Nan, the Chinese language group spoken by the Hoklo....
on semi-formal occasions. Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou is the 12th term and current President of the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, and the Chairman of the Kuomintang Party, also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party. He formerly served as Justice Minister from 1993 to 1996, Mayor of Taipei from 1998 to 2006, and Chairman...
, a mainland China native and then chairman of the KMT, used Taiwanese for a portion of his address at the 2-28 Peace Park
2-28 Peace Park
228 Peace Memorial Park is a historic site located south of Ketagalan Boulevard in the Zhongzheng district of Taipei, Taiwan. The park is home to the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum, housed at the site of a former radio station that operated under Japanese and Kuomintang rule...
on 2005-02-28.
Name Rectification Campaign
The "Name Rectification Campaign" includes efforts by the Republic of ChinaRepublic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
(Taiwan) government beginning in 2000 to distance itself from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
by taking actions such as removing Chinese influence from items within Taiwan control. While the Taiwanese localization movement
Taiwanese localization movement
Taiwanization , also known as the Taiwanese localization movement, is a political term used in Taiwan to emphasize the importance of a separate Taiwanese culture rather than to regard Taiwan as solely an appendage of China...
may view such efforts as emphasizing the importance of Taiwan's culture, this section addresses the perspective of those who likely support the reunification
Chinese reunification
Chinese reunification refers to the bringing together of all of the territories controlled by the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China under a single political entity...
of all of Greater China
Greater China
Greater China is a term used to refer to mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. As a "phrase of the moment", the precise meaning is not entirely clear, and people may use it for only the commercial ties, only the cultural actions, or even as a euphemism for the Two Chinas, while others may...
under a single political entity.
Origin
At the end of World War II Chinese KuomintangKuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
forces occupied Taiwan and soon began an effort to sinicize the population. The Taiwan urban elites were wiped out in the 228 Incident
228 Incident
The 228 Incident, also known as the 228 Massacre, was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on February 27, 1947, and was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang government. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from 10,000 to 30,000 or more...
. Mandarin Chinese
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
became the only language allowed in media and school to the exclusion of Taiwanese languages
Languages of Taiwan
The language with the most native speakers in Taiwan is Taiwanese Hokkien, or "Taiwanese" for short. Hokkien is a topolect of the Chinese family of languages originating in southern Fujian and is spoken by many overseas Chinese throughout Southeast Asia...
. Public institutions and corporations were given names that included the words "China" or "Chinese". School history and geography lessons focused on China with little attention paid to Taiwan. Street names in Taipei were changed from their original names to Chinese names that reflected the geography of China and Kuomintang ideals.
With end of martial law in 1987 and the introduction of democracy in the 1990s after the Wild Lily student movement
Wild Lily student movement
Taiwan's Wild Lily student movement or March student movement was a six-day student demonstration in 1990 for democratic reform. The sit-in at Memorial Square in Taipei, initiated by a few students from National Taiwan University, soon drew the participation of over 300,000 demonstrators...
, an effort began to re-assert Taiwanese identity and culture while trying to get rid of many Chinese influences imposed by the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
.
Education and language campaign
In 2000, then-ROC president Lee Teng-huiLee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui is a politician of the Republic of China . He was the 7th, 8th, and 9th-term President of the Republic of China and Chairman of the Kuomintang from 1988 to 2000. He presided over major advancements in democratic reforms including his own re-election which marked the first direct...
began making statements such as "Taiwan culture is not a branch of Chinese culture" and "Taiwan's southern Fujian dialect is not a branch of Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
's southern Fujian dialect, but rather a 'Taiwan dialect'.". Taiwan radio and TV increased their Taiwan dialect (southern Fujian dialect
Min Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
) programming. These efforts were perceived in China as initial efforts towards breaking the ties between Taiwan culture and Chinese culture by downplaying the long-term Chinese cultural and historic identification in that region.
In April 2003, the Committee for Promoting Mandarin, which was part of Taiwan's Ministry of Education, released a legislation proposal entitled "Language Equality Law." The proposed legislation sought to designate fourteen languages as the national languages of Taiwan. In mainland China, this was seen as an effort to diminish the use of standard Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
and its cultural influences in favor of revising the cultural and psychological foundations on the island of Taiwan by using other languages. The draft was not adopted.
The textbook issue was raised in November 2004, when a group of lawmakers, legislative candidates and supporters of the pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union
Taiwan Solidarity Union
The Taiwan Solidarity Union is a political party in the Republic of China which advocates Taiwan independence. It was officially founded on July 24, 2001 and is considered part of the Pan-Green Coalition. Unlike the Democratic Progressive Party, its larger companion party in the Pan-Green...
(TSU) urged the ROC Ministry of Education to publish Taiwan-centric history and geography textbooks for school children as part of the Taiwanization campaign. Although the resulting draft outline of history course for regular senior middle schools was criticized by a variety of groups, President Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian is a former Taiwanese politician who was the 10th and 11th-term President of the Republic of China from 2000 to 2008. Chen, whose Democratic Progressive Party has traditionally been supportive of Taiwan independence, ended more than fifty years of Kuomintang rule in Taiwan...
responded that "to seek the truth of Taiwan's history" is not equal to desinicization nor an act of independence and indicated that he would not interfere with the history editing and compilation efforts.
The proposals to revise Taiwan's history textbooks were condemned in February 2007 by the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council
Taiwan Affairs Office
The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council is an administrative agency under the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It is responsible for setting and implementing guidelines and policies related to Taiwan, as stipulated by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and...
as being part of the desinicization campaign. In July 2007, the Taiwan Ministry of Education released a study that found 5,000 textbook terms, some relating to Chinese culture, as being "unsuitable". The Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
saw this as part of a textbook censorship desinicization campaign. The proposals have not been adopted.
Name change campaign
Between 2002 and 2007, the ROC government under Chen Shui-bian took steps to revise the terms "China," "Republic of China," "Taipei", and other that impart an association with the Chinese culture.In 2002, the "Name Rectification Campaign" made significant advances in replacing the terms "China," "Republic of China," or "Taipei" with the term "Taiwan" on official documents, in the names of Taiwan-registered organizations, companies, and public enterprises on the island, and in the names of businesses stationed abroad. In 2003, the ROC Foreign Ministry issued a new passport
Republic of China passport
The Republic of China passport is the national passport issued to nationals of the Republic of China with household registration in the Taiwan Area and certain Overseas Chinese...
having the word "Taiwan" printed in English on its cover. Moreover, in January 2005, Taiwan adopted a Westernized writing format for government documents, denied that it was an attempt at desinicization, and promoted the actions as "a concerted effort at globalizing Taiwan's ossified bureaucracies and upgrading the nation's competitive edge."
Campaign in this area continued in March 2006, where the Democratic Progressive Party
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party is a political party in Taiwan, and the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition. Founded in 1986, DPP is the first meaningful opposition party in Taiwan. It has traditionally been associated with strong advocacy of human rights and a distinct Taiwanese identity,...
sought to change the Republic of China year designation used in Taiwan to the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
. Instead of the year 2006 being referred to as the "95th year of the ROC" -- with the 1912 founding of the Republic of China being referred to as "the first year of the ROC" -- the year 2006 would be identified as 2006 in official usage such as on banknotes, IDs, national health insurance cards, driver's licenses, diplomas and wedding certificates. This was viewed as the government trying another angle for desinicization by removing any trace of China from Taiwan.
In February 2007, the term "China" was replaced by the term "Taiwan" on Taiwan postage stamps to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the 228 Incident
228 Incident
The 228 Incident, also known as the 228 Massacre, was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on February 27, 1947, and was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang government. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from 10,000 to 30,000 or more...
that began on February 28, 1947 that was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang (KMT). In that same month, the name of the official postal service
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
of Taiwan was changed from the Chunghwa Post Co.
Chunghwa Post
The Chunghwa Post Co., Ltd. , formerly Taiwan Post Co. , is the official postal service of the Republic of China , providing mail service for Taiwan Area of the Republic of China. It also provides a savings account service...
to The Taiwan Post Co. The company's name was changed back on 1 August 2008, and the names on the postal stamps were reversed in late 2008, soon after the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
(KMT) candidate Ma Ying-Jeou
Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou is the 12th term and current President of the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, and the Chairman of the Kuomintang Party, also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party. He formerly served as Justice Minister from 1993 to 1996, Mayor of Taipei from 1998 to 2006, and Chairman...
won back presidency and ended 8 years of the Democratic Progressive Party
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party is a political party in Taiwan, and the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition. Founded in 1986, DPP is the first meaningful opposition party in Taiwan. It has traditionally been associated with strong advocacy of human rights and a distinct Taiwanese identity,...
(DPP) rule.
In March 2007, the name plate of the ROC Embassy in Panama was revised both to include the word "Taiwan" in parentheses between the words "the Republic of China" and "Embassy" in both of its Chinese and Spanish titles, and to omit the ROC national emblem.
Supporters of the name-change movement argue that the Republic of China no longer exists, as it did not include Taiwan when it was founded in 1912 and mainland China is now controlled by the Chinese Communist Party as the People's Republic of China. Furthermore, the ambiguity surrounding the legal status of Taiwan
Legal status of Taiwan
The legal status of Republic of China is a controversial issue which stems from the complex post-Second World War history of Taiwan. Various claims have been made by the People's Republic of China , the Republic of China , and supporters of Taiwan independence over this question, with a variety of...
as a result of the Treaty of peace with Japan and Treaty of San Francisco
Treaty of San Francisco
The Treaty of Peace with Japan , between Japan and part of the Allied Powers, was officially signed by 48 nations on September 8, 1951, at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, California...
after World War II, means that the Republic of China was merely a military occupier of Taiwan. As Japan relinquished its sovereignty over Taiwan without passing it to a specific country, it is argued that Taiwan ought to be deemed a land belonging to no country, whose international status has yet to be defined.
Constitutional and political campaign
In October 2003, President Chen Shui-bianChen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian is a former Taiwanese politician who was the 10th and 11th-term President of the Republic of China from 2000 to 2008. Chen, whose Democratic Progressive Party has traditionally been supportive of Taiwan independence, ended more than fifty years of Kuomintang rule in Taiwan...
announced that Taiwan would seek a new constitution suitable for the Taiwan people that would turn Taiwan into a "normal country." In explaining what a normal country was in the context of desinicization and the 1992 One-China policy
One-China policy
The One-China policy refers to the policy or view that there is only one state called "China", despite the existence of two governments that claim to be "China"....
, Chen Shui-bian stated,
In response, the Pan-Blue Coalition
Pan-Blue Coalition
The Pan-Blue Coalition 泛藍聯盟 or Pan-Blue Force is a political alliance in the Republic of China , consisting of the Kuomintang , the People First Party , and the New Party . The name comes from the party colours of the Kuomintang...
within Taiwan sought to portray President Chen Shui-bian and his Democratic Progressive Party
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party is a political party in Taiwan, and the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition. Founded in 1986, DPP is the first meaningful opposition party in Taiwan. It has traditionally been associated with strong advocacy of human rights and a distinct Taiwanese identity,...
as radicals intent on implementing revolutionary desinicization that would disenfranchise various ethnic groups within Taiwan who have an affinity for China and the Chinese culture.
In February 2007, the Democratic Progressive Party
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party is a political party in Taiwan, and the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition. Founded in 1986, DPP is the first meaningful opposition party in Taiwan. It has traditionally been associated with strong advocacy of human rights and a distinct Taiwanese identity,...
(DPP) adopted a resolution to identify those responsible for the 1947 228 Incident
228 Incident
The 228 Incident, also known as the 228 Massacre, was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on February 27, 1947, and was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang government. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from 10,000 to 30,000 or more...
massacre of Taiwanese people in order to charge them for war crime and crime against humanity. The effort also sought to remove the "remnants of dictatorship" traced to that sixty-year-old incident. This was seen in mainland China as being in line with a series of desinicization actions by both the Taiwan government and the DPP to rid both Chiang and China from the Taiwan public scene. Some applauded this courageous act of seeking justice. Others criticized the request, seeing it as "rubbing salt into wounds" by playing up the historical issues for political gain.
Other campaign
In March 2007, it was noted that the destruction of the Western Line railway base found below the floor of the Taipei Main StationTaipei Main Station
Taipei Station, also called Taipei Railway Station or Taipei Main Station , refers to the old downtown region in Taipei City, Taiwan, where different modes of public transport systems converge; the station is at the center of this region...
and built in 1893 by Qing Empire-appointed Governor of Taiwan Province
Taiwan Province
Taiwan Province is one of the two administrative divisions referred to as provinces and is controlled by the Republic of China . The province covers approximately 73% of the territory controlled by the Republic of China...
Liu Mingchuan
Liu Mingchuan
Liu Mingchuan was a Chinese official during the Qing dynasty. He adopted a style name of Xingsan . Liu became involved in the suppression of the Taiping rebellion at an early age, and worked closely with Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang as he emerged as an important Huai Army officer...
was part of the government's call for desinicization through removal of the Chinese site.
In July 2007, President Chen Shui-bian announced that he would allow mainland Chinese diplomas or students into Taiwan during the rest of his presidential term. This, however, was not achieved.
Impact
One phenomenon that has resulted from the Taiwanization movement is the advent of Taike subculture, in which young people consciously adopt the wardrobe, language and cuisine to emphasize the uniqueness of popular, groundroots Taiwanese culture, which in previous times had often been seen as provincial and brutally suppressed by Chiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
.
In April 2002, the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
(CPC) noted both active efforts on the part of Taiwan to push ahead its Taiwanization policy and intensified United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-Taiwan military cooperation. In response, the CPC publicly reminded its military to be prepared to achieve its goal of "Chinese reunification
Chinese reunification
Chinese reunification refers to the bringing together of all of the territories controlled by the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China under a single political entity...
" (intended to mean making Taiwan a part of the People's Republic of China) through military means. In addition, the CPC sought assistance from the United States to address the matter with Taiwan. As part of making the upcoming U.S. visit by then vice-president Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
go smoothly, the United States cautioned the Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian is a former Taiwanese politician who was the 10th and 11th-term President of the Republic of China from 2000 to 2008. Chen, whose Democratic Progressive Party has traditionally been supportive of Taiwan independence, ended more than fifty years of Kuomintang rule in Taiwan...
administration not to "go too far" in cross-Strait relations
Cross-Strait relations
Cross-Strait relations refers to the relations between People's Republic of China and the Republic of China , which lie to the west and east, repectively, of the Taiwan Strait in the west Pacific Ocean....
.
In April 2005, the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
(CPC) general secretary Hu Jintao and the former ROC Vice President and then chairman of the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
party (KMT) Lien Chan
Lien Chan
Lien Chan is a politician in Taiwan. He was Premier of the Republic of China from 1993 to 1997, Vice President of the Republic of China from 1996 to 2000, and was the Chairman of the Kuomintang from 2000 to 2005...
shook hands. Billed as a historic moment, this was the first handshake by the top leaders of the KMT and the CPC in 60 years. In remarking on the handshake, chairman Chan noted that it was a turning point where the KMT and the CPC would work together to bring about peaceful cross-strait relations
Cross-Strait relations
Cross-Strait relations refers to the relations between People's Republic of China and the Republic of China , which lie to the west and east, repectively, of the Taiwan Strait in the west Pacific Ocean....
and specifically distanced the KMT from Taiwan independence
Taiwan independence
Taiwan independence is a political movement whose goals are primarily to formally establish the Republic of Taiwan by renaming or replacing the Republic of China , form a Taiwanese national identity, reject unification and One country, two systems with the People's Republic of China and a Chinese...
and desinicization efforts.
Support and opposition
Significant outcries surfaced both within Taiwan and abroad opposing the concept of Taiwan localization in the early years after President Chiang Ching-kuoChiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo , Kuomintang politician and leader, was the son of President Chiang Kai-shek and held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China...
's death, denouncing it as the "independent Taiwan movement" (Chinese: 台獨運動). Vocal opponents are primarily the 1949-generation Mainlanders, or older generations of Mainlanders living on Taiwan that had spent their formative years and adulthood on the pre-1949 mainland Republic of China, and native Taiwanese who identify with a pan-Han Chinese cultural identity. They included people ranging from academics like Chien Mu, reputed to be the last prominent Chinese intellectual opposing the conventional wisdom
Conventional wisdom
Conventional wisdom is a term used to describe ideas or explanations that are generally accepted as true by the public or by experts in a field. Such ideas or explanations, though widely held, are unexamined. Unqualified societal discourse preserves the status quo. It codifies existing social...
take on the May Fourth Movement
May Fourth Movement
The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, especially the Shandong Problem...
, politicians like Lien Chan
Lien Chan
Lien Chan is a politician in Taiwan. He was Premier of the Republic of China from 1993 to 1997, Vice President of the Republic of China from 1996 to 2000, and was the Chairman of the Kuomintang from 2000 to 2005...
, from a family with a long history of active pan-Chinese patriotism despite being native Taiwanese, to gang mobsters like Chang An-le, a leader of the notorious United Bamboo Gang
United Bamboo Gang
The United Bamboo Gang is the largest of Taiwan's three main Triads. They are reported to have roughly 10,000 members. The membership consists largely of waishengren, and has close ties to the Kuomintang; they are said to be motivated as much by political ideology as by profit...
.
The opposing voices were subsequently confined to the fringe in the mid 2000s Taiwan itself. Issues persist, particularly supporters of the Pan-Blue coalition
Pan-Blue Coalition
The Pan-Blue Coalition 泛藍聯盟 or Pan-Blue Force is a political alliance in the Republic of China , consisting of the Kuomintang , the People First Party , and the New Party . The name comes from the party colours of the Kuomintang...
, which advocates retaining a strong link to mainland China, dispute over such issues as what histories to teach. Nonetheless both of the two major political forces in Taiwan reached a consensus, and the movement has overwhelming support among the population. This is in part due to the 1949-generation Mainlanders have gradually passed on the scene, and politicians supporting and opposing the Taiwanese independence movement both realize a majority of Taiwan's current residents, either because they are born in Taiwan to Mainlander parents with no collective memories of the ancestral homes, or they are native Taiwanese thus feeling no historical connotations with the entire pre-1949 Republic of China on mainland China, support the movement as such.
On mainland China, the PRC
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
government has on the surface adopted a neutral policy on Taiwanization and its highest level leaders publicly proclaim it does not consider the Taiwanization movement to be either a violation of its One China Policy or equivalent to the independence movement. Nonetheless, the state-owned media and academics employed by organizations such as universities' Institutes of Taiwan Studies or the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences , established in 1977, is the premier and highest academic research organization in the fields of philosophy and social sciences as well as a national center for comprehensive studies in the People's Republic of China. It was described by Foreign Policy...
(CASS) periodically release study results, academic journal articles, or editorials denouncing the movement as "the cultural arm of Taiwanese independence movement" (Chinese: 文化台獨) with the government's tacit approval, showing the PRC government's opposition stance towards Taiwanization in truth.
Nowadays another front of significant opposition to the Taiwanization movement remains in the overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
communities in Southeast Asia and the Western world, who identify more with the historic pre-1949 mainland Republic of China or pre-Taiwanization movement ROC on Taiwan that oriented itself as the rump legitimate government of China. A great many number are themselves refugees and dissidents which fled mainland China, either directly or through Hong Kong or Taiwan, during the founding of the People's Republic of China and the subsequent periods of destructive policies such as the Land Reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
, the Anti-Rightist Movement
Anti-Rightist Movement
The Anti-Rightist Movement of the People's Republic of China in the 1950s and early 1960s consisted of a series of campaigns to purge alleged "rightists" within the Communist Party of China and abroad...
, Great Leap Forward
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social campaign of the Communist Party of China , reflected in planning decisions from 1958 to 1961, which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern...
, or the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
anti-Communist immigrants who fled Hong Kong in light of the Handover to the PRC in 1997, or Mainlanders living in Taiwan who moved to the West in response to the Taiwanization movement. Conversely, the current population of Taiwan regard these overseas Chinese as foreigners akin to Singaporean
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
Chinese, as opposed to the pre-Taiwanization era when they were labeled as fellow Chinese compatriots. The PRC has capitalized on this window of opportunity in making overtures to the traditionally anti-Communist overseas Chinese communities, including gestures in supporting traditional Chinese culture and dumping explicitly Communist tones in overseas communications. This results in a decline of active political opposition to the PRC from overseas Chinese when compared with the times before the Taiwanization movement in Taiwan.
In Hong Kong, Taiwanization movements have pushed localization or pro-Chinese Communist tilts among the traditionally pro-Republic of China individuals and organizations. An prominent example is Chu Hai College, which the Hong Kong SAR government officially recognized its academic degree programmes in May 2004, and registered as an "Approved Post-secondary College" with the Hong Kong SAR government since July of the same year. It has since been renamed the Chu Hai College of Higher Education (珠海學院) and no longer registered with the Republic of China's Ministry of Education. New students from 2004 have been awarded degrees in the right of Hong Kong rather than Taiwan.
Role in politics
Even though it is a broad consensus currently regarding the overall ideology of Taiwanization, there are still deep disputes over practical policies between the three main political groups of Taiwan independenceTaiwan independence
Taiwan independence is a political movement whose goals are primarily to formally establish the Republic of Taiwan by renaming or replacing the Republic of China , form a Taiwanese national identity, reject unification and One country, two systems with the People's Republic of China and a Chinese...
, Chinese reunification
Chinese reunification
Chinese reunification refers to the bringing together of all of the territories controlled by the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China under a single political entity...
, and supporters of Chinese culture. Pro-independence supporters argue that Taiwan is and should be enhancing an identity which is separate from the Chinese one, and in more extreme cases advocates the removal of Chinese "imprints". Meanwhile, some would argue that Taiwan should create a distinctive identity that either includes certain Chinese aspect or exists within a broader Chinese one. Those who support Chinese reunification call for a policy of enhancing the Chinese identity. Groups that support Chinese reunification
Chinese reunification
Chinese reunification refers to the bringing together of all of the territories controlled by the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China under a single political entity...
and Chinese nationalism
Chinese nationalism
Chinese nationalism , sometimes synonymous with Chinese patriotism refers to cultural, historiographical, and political theories, movements and beliefs that assert the idea of a cohesive, unified Chinese people and culture in a unified country known as China...
have emphasized the distinction between Taiwanization and what some perceive as desinicization
Desinicization
Desinicization is a term that describes the act of the elimination of Chinese influence, which is the opposite of "sinicization".-Historical:...
and argued that they do not oppose the promotion of a Taiwanese identity, but rather oppose the use of that identity to separate itself from a broader Chinese one. On the other hand, a few apolitical groups have pointed out that most of the political factions merely use these points to win support for elections.
External links
- 藍軍提論述三主軸 討論改黨名, Liberty TimesLiberty TimesThe Liberty Times is a newspaper published in Republic of China in Traditional Chinese. Founded by Lin Rong-San, it is published by the Liberty Times Group, which also publishes the English language newspaper the Taipei Times...