Identity in formation and transformation: dynamics of national identity change after Taiwans democratization

Abstract

Analyzing data from nine surveys conducted between 1991 and 2020, this chapter first depicts the trends of national identity of the general populace in Taiwan and identifies two distinct stages of identity change. The first stage is characterized by the rise and predominance of dual identities in the 1990s. The second is characterized by the waning of Chinese nationalism since 2004. The phenomenon of dual identities raises a puzzling question for the study of nationalism: why the emerging Taiwanese national identity was compatible with orthodox Chinese nationalism. The decline of Chinese nationalism since 2004 poses another puzzle: why in the time of China's rise and the increasing economic integration between the two sides of the Straits, Chinese national identity began to lose its appeals to the populace on the island. To answer these two puzzles, this chapter proposes to examine the nature of both Taiwanese national identity and Chinese national identity and analyzes how they have negotiated with each other since Taiwan's democratization.