There are still too much conflict in and struggle over our national identity. Though the government's Ministry of Cultural Affairs is giving financial support for Taiwan-oriented civil society, there is still not enough influence to build a Taiwan national identity.
I don't think the government's efforts would have enough influence to grant the international community the ability to know the difference between China and Taiwan.
The government hasn't yet formed a strong consensus to push for Taiwan-centered activities. The whole government mechanism still works under a "China-identity" framework. I have reservations about government's cultural establishment policy.
TT: Several of Taiwan's universities are establishing graduate schools of Taiwanese literature study such as National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, National Tsinghua University in Hsinchu and the National Taiwan University. What do you think of the trend?
Lee: It's an attitude and lifestyle. If people don't really care about literature in their daily life, literature or cultural study will never reflect the souls of the people and ultimately be accepted by the public.
Taiwanese society is composed of immigrants. Economic activities become a crucial part of the social activity, while arts and cultural movement is hardly the focus of daily life.
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