Diverse Facets in Identities and Party Affiliations of Native Taiwanese Elders

There exists a conventional stereotype about native Taiwanese elders that were born in and lived through the Japanese rule before 1945. On the one hand, some politicians and political commentators derogatorily call them the“Kominka genera- tion, ”reinforcing the image of this group of having strong affection or and even intense lovaliv to the previous Japanese regime. On the other hand, although marry researchers have pointed out this cohorts'strong cultural ties to Han ethnicity - some even pos- sessed nostalgic feelings toward China - in the colonial period, the researchers also emphasized the emergence o their strong sense of being Taiwanese when they su ered various political and cultural discrimination from the new Chinese dominant class after 1945. Therefore, both perspectives falsely unagine this cohort to he definitely identifying themselves as Taiwanese, relecting Chinese identity, opposing the Kuomintang(KMT) . and supporting the Democratic Progressive Party(DPP) . This paper aims to challenge these stereotypes. By adopting the techniques o grounded theory the paper shows rich diversity not only in this cohort's perceptions toward the political parties but also in their identity patterns. Furthermore three themes are identified in these participants explanation for iheir political orientations: economic development, social stability and security, and the cultural hierarchy that gives the KMT elites higher symbolic values than native political elites.