Looking Toward the Future in the Taiwan Strait: Generational Politics in Taiwan

Abstract

Taiwan’s eventful recent history shaped four coherent political generations, which will be called Colonial, Authoritarian, Transitional, and Democratic. The pattern of views toward identity, politics and cross-Strait relations differs significantly from one generation to the next. Two trends are particularly important: the younger generations include higher percentages who view themselves as Taiwanese, not Chinese. At the same time, however, the youngest generation—the age group that grew to political consciousness in a fully-democratic Taiwan that enjoyed open and positive relations with the Mainland—is more open to economic and other interactions with the PRC than its seniors.