While the majority of the public believe Taiwan is an independent sovereign nation named the Republic of China (ROC), it is a different story for those who seek de jure independence and the abolition of the ROC.
Independence supporters spurn the ROC, which they say is a political construct imposed on Taiwanese by a foreign regime rather than a locally developed political entity shaped by a process of nation-building and self-determination.
However, there is a major difference along generational lines in the Taiwanese independence movement, as the “organic independence” generation has different priorities than the older generation, with the younger generation being more tolerant of the ROC.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“I am keenly aware that the enemy [of Taiwanese independence] is the fictitious ROC. Young people nowadays fail to realize that this is the core of the issue. Without this understanding [of the ROC as the main obstacle to independence], you cannot find a way out of the confines of the ROC,” said Cheng Tzu-tsai (鄭自才), an independence activist known for his attempt to assassinate then-vice premier Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) in New York City on April 24, 1970.
The top, and possibly only meaningful priority is to abolish the ROC and obtain de jure independence, which is the sole foundation of a sound and progressive democracy, said Cheng, who confronted Sunflower movement activist Hsu En-en (許恩恩) after he gave a speech at a forum on the views of the “organic independence” generation.
“I find it meaningless to argue about whether one should support Taiwanese independence or ‘ROC independence.’ While I do not identify with the ROC, what I am doing can contribute to the building of Taiwanese identity,” Hsu said.
“There is no point in categorizing activists as Taiwanese independence or ROC independence supporters,” added Hsu, a member of non-governmental organization Civil Movement for Constitutional Reform.
While they do join hands with seasoned activists to campaign for de jure independence, younger independence supporters focus more energy on more attainable goals such as labor and housing rights, government transparency and citizen empowerment, Hsu said.
The older generation’s activism should be viewed in the light of post-war decolonization and they believe the building of a progressive democracy cannot be done without the removal of a repressive regime and the building of a new nation, Academia Sinica historian Wu Rwei-ren (吳叡人) said.
The “organic independence” generation is more socially oriented and does not necessarily prioritize political movements over social movements, while their methodology is the reverse of the older generation’s idea of nation-building — a progressive society has to be established first for a good nation to exist, Wu said.
That is because “organic independence” is not the product of a sophisticated theorization, but an unreflected consciousness born of real-life experiences living under a localized ROC system with little state repression, Wu added.
However, notwithstanding a vibrant independence movement, the nation has experienced a drop in Taiwanese identification to a new five-year low, paradoxically from a record high during the previous Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.
According to a survey by National Chengchi University’s (NCCU) Election Study Center that has traced the core political attitudes of Taiwanese since 1992, the percentage of people identifying themselves as Taiwanese fell to 55.3 percent last year from the record-high 60.6 percent in 2014.
It was also the first time the percentage of those identifying themselves as Taiwanese had diminished three years in a row.
The percentage of people identifying as both Taiwanese and Chinese has grew from 32.5 percent in 2014 to 37.3 percent last year, a new five-year high as well as the first consecutive three-year increase.
The percentage of people identifying as Chinese has remained relatively low, between 3.3 percent and 4 percent over the past 10 years.
A similar trend was also shown in the Taiwan National Security Studies Surveys by Duke University, which found that those identifying themselves as Taiwanese fell from 58 percent in 2016 to 52.2 percent last year, while those identifying themselves as Taiwanese and Chinese increased from 35.1 percent in 2016 to 40 percent last year.
Cross-Strait Policy Association secretary-general Wang Zhin-sheng (王智盛) said the decrease in Taiwanese identification was a “back to normal” adjustment and the increase in dual identification is associated with China’s success in building a more modernized and powerful image, and its introduction of more sophisticated “united front” strategies.
Taiwanese identification surged to its highest level during former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, which was brought on by the Ma government’s haste in opening the nation’s borders to China and Beijing’s obvious, but sometimes coarse attempts to assimilate Taiwanese, he said.
That led to a public aversion to China and a rapid increase in those identifying as Taiwanese, which culminated in the Sunflower movement, he added.
Since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was sworn in, the aversion has cooled and the public has begun to view China more objectively, Wang said.
With its modernity, the new image of China appeals to some Taiwanese, resulting in the rise of dual identification, he said, adding that Beijing has also evolved its “united front” strategies by targeting more easily assimilated Taiwanese, providing them with economic and employment benefits.
National Dong Hwa University professor Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒) said the paradox of a surge of Taiwanese identity during a KMT administration and its decrease during a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration might be associated with party affiliation.
For some from the less politically sensitive demographic, their party affiliation might be linked with national identification and their disappointment with the DPP might be translated into a decrease in Taiwanese identity and increase in dual identity, he said.
“The national consciousness of Taiwanese is still underdeveloped because if it was developed, there will be no [symbols and commemoration of] Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石),” Wu said, adding that the underdevelopment is due to the repression of Japanese colonial government and then the KMT regime.
Wu offered a middle ground between “organic independence” and the older generation, which is arguably a more desirable form of independence mindset — the “conscious independence” attitude that places the same importance on social and political goals and views the ROC, localized and tamed, as an inevitable detour en route to independence.
“When you come to perceive Taiwan as both a social and political entity, when you begin to understand that only independence can ensure other things [such as social and political values], you are no longer a person of ‘organic independence,’ but of ‘conscious independence.’ It is then that you realize that all the progressive values you aspire for are inextricably linked to an independent Taiwan,” Wu said.
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