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Taiwan
Culture & History
Personality, Culture, & Identity
Taiwan or the Republic of China? Chinese, Taiwanese, both,
or aboriginal? Democratic on paper or in reality? Taiwan is a country (or just an
island) that is confusing to both locals and foreigners alike. Politically it claims
mainland China, while mainland China's government claims
Taiwan. The people are primarily ethnic Chinese, but they identify in many ways.
Many people aren't even sure if Taiwan can (or should) be considered a country.
After all, didn't they lose recognition due to mainland China's power rather
than their own faults? Or was it a combination of both?
Politically, historically, culturally, and geographically, Taiwan
is and always has been somewhere on the periphery of China,
although never completely integrated with the mainland. Today little has changed;
most of the people are now of Han Chinese descent, but in their opinion they still
remain on the periphery of the mainland, not sure if they truly are a part of the
mainland, something attached in a way, or something entirely removed.
Each Taiwanese identifies differently; in some cases it
is based on politics. Ethnic minorities identify by their ethnicity, but the majority
of the people in Taiwan are ethnic Han Chinese. These people primarily identify
as "Chinese," "Taiwanese," or both. Those who only identify
as only Chinese or Taiwanese are essentially making a political statement in their
personal beliefs of rejoining mainland China politically
or strongly identifying as a separate political identity. Most people in Taiwan
identify as both; recognizing their ethnicity, while also pledging themselves to
the Taiwanese island and government; these people generally understand the relationship
between themselves, their culture, their food, their history, and the politics between
Taiwan and mainland China.
History
The aboriginal people of Taiwan are ethnically similar
to the people of Malaysia and the south Pacific and they remained fairly isolated
on Taiwan until the 1600s. Although the world was aware of the island of Taiwan,
there was little to no interest in colonizing or trading with the island for centuries.
In the 1600s the Han Chinese began arriving on Taiwan,
but didn't arrive in large numbers at first. For the most part, the Chinese
and aboriginals intermarried and over time Chinese slowly overcame the aboriginal
languages and customs. Also in the 1600s the Dutch arrived in order to safeguard
their trading routes in the Far East. They established
some outposts and introduced missionaries, but never truly altered the culture or
ventured inland. What the Dutch did do was emphasize the importance of the island's
location.
In the mid-1600s with the collapse of the Ming Dynasty in mainland
China, much of the government fled to Taiwan to
find refuge. This pushed the Dutch out and began a stronger Chinese influence. The
new government in China was the Qings and they sought both the Ming leadership and
further control so took much of Taiwan in the late 1600s. Even at this time though,
most of the island was aboriginal, with only the coastal areas being dominated by
ethnic Chinese. Due to the Qing discouraging emigration to Taiwan, this aboriginal
domination on Taiwan continued.
The 1800s saw many changes to Taiwan as Qing central control
faltered and domestic groups began fighting for power. This instability and the
importance of trading routes led to attacks by the French,
British, and Japanese,
before China's Qing Dynasty clamped down on controlling the island in the late
1800s.
Just after solidifying control over Taiwan, the Chinese
entered a war with the Japanese and transferred control
over Taiwan to the Japanese. Taiwan remained under Japan's control through World
War II (WWII). During this time some Taiwanese groups fought this rule and the Wushe
Uprising in the 1930s best represented this fight. The aboriginals that led this
resistance lost decidedly, but it symbolized that power remained out of the hands
of the still large majority of people, the aboriginals
Despite protests, the Japanese extended healthcare, communication,
and infrastructure in Taiwan and these changes were well
received. Before WWII, war broke out between China and
Japan and the Taiwanese were divided on which side to support then and during WWII.
At the conclusion of WWII, the Japanese gave
Taiwan to China, but China remained in the middle
of a civil war. A couple years later, as the Chinese communists proved victorious
in mainland China, the defeated nationalists retreated to Taiwan, much like Ming
leadership did centuries earlier.
This wave of Chinese immigrants forever altered the aboriginal way of life as the
Chinese came in large numbers and intermarried locals. While most
Taiwanese claim to be ethnic Chinese, most are actually a combination of
Chinese and aboriginal as pure aboriginals primarily live in the mountains.
After the late 1940s, with this immigration, the political situation in
Taiwan became a strong leadership with power held firmly at the top. Despite
this, much of the world recognized Taiwan, officially called the "Republic
of China" as the legitimate ruling government of China and they held a seat
on the United Nations (UN) for years. This changed in 1971 with the UN's recognition
of the Democratic People's Republic of China (mainland
China) and offering the two a joint seat to represent China, an offer that Taiwan
refused to accept.
The 1980s were better for Taiwan as the government focused
on internal issues and improved the people's rights, allowed greater political
freedoms, and expanded rights to the small minority of aboriginals. In 1996 Taiwan
had its first democratic election and the ruling nationalist party lost power. Since
that time, focus has remained domestic and the country continues to improve, particularly
in terms of economic growth.
Dress & Behavior
There are few dress restrictions in Taiwan. Although few
locals wear shorts, especially men, there is no discourtesy involved in wearing
them. Also, unlike many beaches in Europe, sunbathing
naked is rarely permitted; check with locals before doing so.
Behaviorally, the Taiwanese people are very proud people
and insulting them or putting a person down in anyway can be very offensive as the
person will feel "shamed." In much the same way, the Taiwanese will rarely
give you critical advice or insult you in fear of "shaming" you. This
is especially true in business. Turning down a business offer in the wrong way may,
unknowingly be an insult and could force your contact to feel so shamed that he
will actually quit his job; if all hope is lost on a deal, allow your Taiwanese
counterpart to gracefully exit the situation so he can save "face."
However, some locals will stand up in defense of an insult, even if unintentional.
In these cases the person feeling insulted may stand up for his honor and shout
back at the other. Fortunately, this is only common among locals arguing with each
other.
Dinning etiquette in Taiwan has a number of customs; to
learn about dining etiquette in Taiwan, visit the Taiwanese
Food page.
This page was last updated: November, 2011