From Ethnic to Civic Nationalism: The Formation and Changing Nature of Taiwanese Identity

In the context of the ongoing complex political interaction between Taiwan and mainland China, this paper offers an analysis of the historical-structural evolution of Taiwanese identity over the past one hundred years. It charts the birth and development of Taiwanese nationalism through five key historical periods, starting with the Japanese colonization of Taiwan and ending with Taiwan’s democratization and the trend toward a civic nationalism since the mid-1990s. In moving through these historical periods, the article endeavors to trace the cultural and political origins, as well as the changing faces of, Taiwanese nationalist discourses in Taiwan in order to further scholarly understanding of both the cultural politics of Taiwan and the development of the nation-state in general.