University Professor Dr. T.Y. Wang published a co-authored paper titled ‘’The Chinese Threat and Changes of Identity in Taiwan.” The paper appears in Asian Survey. Analyzing recently collected survey data, the study examines the effect of the Chinese threat on Taiwanese citizens’ identity.
The importance of identity in understanding contemporary politics has been well articulated in the social sciences literature. Employing the theory of threat, this study examines the effects on Taiwanese citizens’ identity of Beijing’s repressive measures in Hong Kong and its military intimidation of Taipei. Using three waves of panel data collected in Taiwan between 2018 and 2020, the study finds that respondents shifted significantly toward identifying as Taiwanese and away from identifying as Chinese. Rather than encouraging identification with China, Beijing’s repressive actions in Hong Kong and military threats toward Taiwan have only strengthened the island citizens’ identity as Taiwanese.
The findings have significant implications for cross-Strait relations. As a result of Chinese threat, Taiwanese citizens have identified less and less with a country they have grown to see as antagonistic. Chinese leaders will have to be creative in their approach to Taiwan if they want to win the hearts and minds of the island’s residents and resolve cross-Strait conflicts peacefully. Meanwhile, previous scholarship has often assumed that identity is mainly a domestic issue, but the researchers find that events beyond and across national borders can affect the dynamics of identity change.
