January 23, 2008

The "Taiwan Question" is interesting because almost nowhere in the world is national identity dependent on the political party. If you're "blue" like my family, you are leaning towards unification with the motherland (China). If you're "green", you are leaning towards independence from the motherland. If you're "red", you ARE the motherland!

"Green" people assert that Taiwan has a separate identity from China. To a certain extent, that's true. Taiwanese food has evolved to take its own color and taste that you can't find on the mainland. Mandarin vocabulary is somewhat more sophisticated calligraphically and linguistically (and consequently, more difficult to learn!). Mainland China is unbelievably diverse, with a gajillion ethnic groups, each with their own dialects and customs. Taiwan is generally homogenous, with most people speaking "Taiwanese", which is really Fujianese. As someone who sees no need to learn Taiwanese, I can't say if Taiwanese has evolved to become so different from Fujianese that it merits its own dialectic classification.

To say, though, that people born in Taiwan are Taiwanese is silly. Many Chinese are born in the United States. Given. Does that make them ethnically American? No. You may be born in America, but you're still Chinese. Similarly, white Americans are not ethnically American. They are of European descent. The only ethnic Taiwanese are the indigenous Taiwanese. All this to say that to say Taiwan is culturally and socially distinct from China is preposterous.

Class is starting... to be continued!