英文摘要 |
The ethnic relations in Taiwan entered a new stage, as the country moved toward liberal democracy in the late 1980’s. The authoritarian regime of the Kuomintang was marked by political domination by a minority group of Chinese mainlanders, whose repression of native Taiwanese local culture created political tensions and social animosity between two groups. As the transition to democracy broke down the minority’s political domination, a new Taiwanese identity was also created along the process. The conflict between native Taiwanese and Chinese mainlanders upholding different identities continues to serve as the center of ethnic politics in the country. Based on the data collected from several sets of nationwide house interview surveys, this article shows, a) As far as the ethnic politics is concerned, there are only two ethnic groups in Taiwan-- native Taiwanese (including Minnan and Hokka) and Chinese mainlanders, as opposed to commonly held assertion of three ethnic groups with their own languages/dialects; b) due to the political change and social development in the past five decades, the social animosity and segregation between two groups have been greatly decreased; c) the rise of new Taiwanese identity and its conflict with the Chinese one has resulted in a widespread sense of distrust among native Taiwanese; and d) social contact (measured in terms of inter-marriage) between members of different ethnic groups has not decreased the political distrust. It appears that a combination of social assimilation and political tension best describes the nature of ethnic relations in current Taiwan. |