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.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to