Is Taiwan Chinese?: The Impact of Culture, Power, and Migration on Changing Identities (Berkeley Series in Interdisciplinary Studies of China) (Volume 2)

The "one China" policy officially supported by the People's Republic of China, the United States, and other countries asserts that there is only one China and Taiwan is a part of it. The debate over whether the people of Taiwan are Chinese or independently Taiwanese is, Melissa J. Brown argues, a matter of identity: Han ethnic identity, Chinese national identity, and the relationship of both of these to the new Taiwanese identity forged in the 1990s. In a unique comparison of ethnographic and historical case studies drawn from both Taiwan and China, Brown's book shows how identity is shaped by social experience-not culture and ancestry, as is commonly claimed in political rhetoric. Illustrations: 19 b/w photographs, 3 maps, 17 tables Illustrations......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 1. What’s in a Name? Culture, Identity, and the “Taiwan Problem”......Page 20 2. Where Did the Aborigines Go? Reinstating Plains Aborigines in Taiwan’s History......Page 54 3. “We Savages Didn’t Bind Feet”: Culture, Colonial Intervention, and Long-Route Identity Change......Page 85 4. “Having a Wife Is Better than Having a God”: Ancestry, Governmental Power, and Short-Route Identity Change......Page 153 5. “They Came with Their Hands Tied behind Their Backs”: Forced Migrations, Identity Changes, and State Classification in Hubei......Page 185 6. Theory and the Politics of Reunification: Understanding Past Choices and Future Options......Page 230 Notes......Page 270 References......Page 298 Character List......Page 322 Index......Page 328

The "one China" policy officially supported by the People's Republic of China, the United States, and other countries asserts that there is only one China and Taiwan is a part of it. The debate over whether the people of Taiwan are Chinese or independently Taiwanese is, Melissa J. Brown argues, a matter of identity: Han ethnic identity, Chinese national identity, and the relationship of both of these to the new Taiwanese identity forged in the 1990s.
In a unique comparison of ethnographic and historical case studies drawn from both Taiwan and China, Brown's book shows how identity is shaped by social experience—not culture and ancestry, as is commonly claimed in political rhetoric.

What's In A Name? : Culture, Identity, And The Taiwan Problem -- Where Did The Aborigines Go? : Reinstating Plains Aborigines In Taiwan's History -- We Savages Didn't Bind Feet : Culture, Colonial Intervention, And Long-route Identity Change -- Having A Wife Is Better Than Having A God : Ancestry, Governmental Power, And Short-route Identity Change -- They Came With Their Hands Tied Behind Their Backs : Forced Migrations, Identity Changes, And State Classification In Hubei -- Theory And The Politics Of Reunification : Understanding Past Choices And Future Options. Melissa J. Brown. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 279-301) And Index. Annotation "In this eye opening book, Melissa Brown shines an illuminating light on the divisive political issues now facing China and Taiwan as both struggle over how Taiwan's future will be decided. If identity has profoundly and rapidly changed in Taiwan over the past fifteen years, as she persuasively argues, extraordinary skill, patience, and luck will be needed on both sides if a mutually acceptable political settlement is ever to become a reality."--Ramon H. Myers, Senior Fellow and Consultant to Hoover Archives, Hoover Institution at Stanford Annotation Melissa Brown looks at the issue of Tiawan - specifically whether or not the Taiwanese are of Chinese/Han ethnicity (as is claimed by the Chinese government) - or is there in fact a Taiwanese ethnicity that is in fact unique unto itself (as the Taiwanese claim) In a unique comparison of studies drawn from both Taiwan and China, Brown's book shows how identity is shaped by social experience - not culture and ancestry, as is commonly claimed in political rhetoric. At the turn of the twenty-first century, Taiwan is a global hot spot.