Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Contributors to this Volume
- Acronyms and Abbreviations
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 Who are We? Identity in Transition
- 2 Taiwan: Yearning for an Identity
- 3 The Implications of Direct Flights: Beijing in Taiwanese Politics
- 4 Kuomintang, Democratization and the One-China Principle
- 5 The Deepening and Consolidation of Democracy in Taiwan
- 6 India and Taiwan: Bolstering Complementarity in Information Technology
- 7 Asian Regional Economic Integration and Taiwan–India Economic Relations
- 8 The Taiwan Factor in Sino–Indian Relations
- 9 Japan's Triumphant Diplomacy in Taiwan in 1874
- 10 A Study of the Cultural and Educational Exchanges between Taiwan and India, 1995–2006
- 11 Between Two Worlds: A Survey of Education in Taiwan
- 12 Female Immigrants, Social Capital and Public Sphere in Taiwan
- 13 Information Technology and Gender: Taiwan and India
- 14 Tzu Chi: A Case Study of Engaged Buddhism in Taiwan
- 15 Master Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan and the Development of Humanistic Buddhism
- 16 The Heritage and Innovation of Chan Paintings in Taiwan
- 17 Taiwan in World Architecture: A Historical Perspective
- Afterword
2 - Taiwan: Yearning for an Identity
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Contributors to this Volume
- Acronyms and Abbreviations
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 Who are We? Identity in Transition
- 2 Taiwan: Yearning for an Identity
- 3 The Implications of Direct Flights: Beijing in Taiwanese Politics
- 4 Kuomintang, Democratization and the One-China Principle
- 5 The Deepening and Consolidation of Democracy in Taiwan
- 6 India and Taiwan: Bolstering Complementarity in Information Technology
- 7 Asian Regional Economic Integration and Taiwan–India Economic Relations
- 8 The Taiwan Factor in Sino–Indian Relations
- 9 Japan's Triumphant Diplomacy in Taiwan in 1874
- 10 A Study of the Cultural and Educational Exchanges between Taiwan and India, 1995–2006
- 11 Between Two Worlds: A Survey of Education in Taiwan
- 12 Female Immigrants, Social Capital and Public Sphere in Taiwan
- 13 Information Technology and Gender: Taiwan and India
- 14 Tzu Chi: A Case Study of Engaged Buddhism in Taiwan
- 15 Master Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan and the Development of Humanistic Buddhism
- 16 The Heritage and Innovation of Chan Paintings in Taiwan
- 17 Taiwan in World Architecture: A Historical Perspective
- Afterword
Summary
INTRODUCTION: A PROJECT FOR NATION-BUILDING
What defines a nation? Is it historic possession, ethnic background, de facto might makes right or de jure agreements? What makes a nation and what confers national sovereignty? Do self determination, democracy and imagined community enter into this equation? That is the question.
Taiwan, a vibrant democracy, is the sixteenth largest economy of the world with its population exceeding that of 75 per cent of United Nations (UN) members. Though all countries trade with Taiwan, it has not been granted political recognition and diplomatic status. Taiwan is languishing in a muddy legal quagmire without historical precedent.
The flags of five different nations have flown over Taiwan in the past 400 years. The people on the island have adapted to every new regime. Taiwan is like a sweet potato – humble, nutritious and quietly growing under the sand – but determined to emerge and face its destiny.
Taiwan straddles the Tropic of Cancer and falls in the path of monsoon rains, storms, typhoons and earthquakes. Nature corresponds to the chaotic and dynamic history of Taiwan.
Taiwan is an offshore extension of China, the southernmost reach of the Japanese Chain and the northernmost stretch of South East Asia. Situated on the crossroads where the three powers meet, the people found themselves buffeted, torn and with little control.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Taiwan Today , pp. 13 - 21Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2010