"Consciousness" was the key word at the first round of yesterday's conference "New Vision of Taiwan Strategic Security based on Taiwan Entity" -- "the consolidation of Taiwan's consciousness after March 20."
"Whether you call it Taiwanese entity, Taiwanese subjective consciousness, or Taiwanese identity, these are all surrogate to the constant controversial Taiwanese identity," said Shih Cheng-feng (
And the identity is here to stay, contrary to the common belief that Taiwan's growing economic integration with China will increase political acceptance of China, said Yan Jiann-fa (
Agreeing with the Taiwanese professors, Thomas Gold, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, elaborated on the existence of Taiwan consciousness and stressed the need to provide scientific evidence of its existence in order to convince "our friends on the other side of the Strait."
Gold said that while many people, including himself, have no doubt about the existence of Taiwan consciousness or identity, the fact that such an idea rises from below is a difficult concept to grasp for Chinese officials, who believe that any idea comes from the top of the social system, ie the government. "That's why they believe that the concept of Taiwanese identity is a result of the manipulation of the DPP government," Gold said.
However, Gold also warned about the danger of the destructive capability of campaign rhetoric. Pointing out that while President Chen's inauguration speech was a constructive and positive approach to Taiwan's identity, as the year-end elections draws near, political parties in Taiwan should be cautious of the danger of negative rhetoric on Taiwan's identity that could result in a divided society.
NEW CONSCIOUSNESS
Agreeing with Gold, Shelley Rigger, an associate professor of political science at Davidson College, said that campaign rhetoric mustn't be allowed to confuse or sour internal harmony of the country.
On the other hand, Rigger queried whether Taiwan is a polarized or deeply divided society in the wake of the election, but rather, a superficial polarization stimulated by few political extremists.
BETTER COMMUNICATION
Rigger urged better communication with the US administration and the international community to reduce any unnecessary negative reaction from these bodies when Taiwan has justifiable agendas -- such as the constitutional amendment and the referendum -- which aren't aimed at resolving the sovereignty issue.
Rigger said that Taiwan's government should be more cautious about what it says to its citizens, as it is also taken seriously by the international community. However, this is not to say that the fault in miscommunication lies completely with Taiwanese government, said Rigger, "The US has been even worse in the communication process. The recent flap regarding Taiwan sending troops to Iraq is an example of the incoherent communication of people in the US creating problems for people in Taiwan."
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