Although more and more people have come to identify themselves as Taiwanese in recent years, this has not necessarily translated into an increase in "Taiwanese nationalism," according to an academic paper yesterday.
The paper on Taiwanese identity was presented by Academia Sinica research fellow Wu Nai-teh (吳乃德) at a forum held in Taipei yesterday to mark the 10th anniversary of the "1996 Missile Crisis."
"Although Taiwanese have different views about identity, almost all Taiwanese agree that the country's future should be decided by the people of Taiwan," Wu concluded in his paper.
According to annual household interview polls conducted by National Chengchi University, Wu said that the results suggested that only 13.6 percent of respondents identified themselves as Taiwanese in 1991. That number had risen to 45.7 percent by late 2004.
In contrast, Wu said the "Chinese consciousness" of respondents has steadily decreased.
While in 1991 43.9 percent of interviewees identified themselves as Chinese, the number was down to 6.3 percent by 2004.
Telephone surveys conducted annually by the university from 1994 to 2005 indicate a similar percentage and a same tendency, Wu said.
Wu added, however, that the polls showed interviewees with double identities (those who identify themselves as both Taiwanese and Chinese) have remained steady.
While 49.7 percentage of the household interviewees described themselves as both Taiwanese and Chinese in 1992, the percentage was 45.4 in 2004.
Telephone surveys indicate that since 1994 to 2005, around 40 to 50 percent of interviewees think of themselves as both Taiwanese and Chinese, Wu said.
In order to further explore the identity issue, Wu said he has conducted annual polls from 1992 to 2004 asking people questions such as "Do you agree that Taiwan should declare independence if it would not cause a war?" and "Do you agree that Taiwan should unite with China if there were no political, economic or social differences between the both sides?"
Wu said the polls found around one-fourth to one-third of respondents had maintained "double identities" over the years.
Wu found in his polls that the percentage of Taiwanese nationalists -- defined as those who consider Taiwan an independent political entity and would never want Taiwan to unite with China, even if both sides had no social differences -- grew very fast after the 1996 missile crisis.
The number rose from 10.3 percent in 1993, to 21.3 percent in 1996, but the percentage has stayed between 20 to 30 percent ever since, he said.
However, Chinese nationalists -- those who would like to see both sides of the Strait unite if they shared the same social conditions, declined from around 40 percent in 1992, to 15 percent in 2004.
Wu said he interviewed the same people in 1998 and 2000, and found that more than half of them had changed their views.
This means that many Tai-wanese are still confused about identity, and are easily affected by political, social and economic circumstances, Wu said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book