Democracy and Nation Formation: National Identity Change and Dual Identity in Taiwan, 1991-2011 Shiau-Chi Shen Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2013 © 2013 Shiau-Chi Shen All rights reserved ABSTRACT Democracy and Nation Formation: National Identity Change and Dual Identity in Taiwan, 1991-2011 Shiau-Chi Shen As has been the case in many newly democratized countries, the transition to democracy in Taiwan entailed nationalist competition and the aggravation of ethnic conflict. Much research has shown that national identities among the general populace have experienced radical change. The Chinese national identity no longer occupies a dominant position, while the Taiwanese national identity is rapidly rising. The popular view is that democratization provides a political space for this nascent Taiwanese identity to challenge, and eventually replace, orthodox Chinese identity. This view, however, overlooks the very important phenomenon that, especially in the stage following the democratic transition, most people held dual national identity, i.e. both Taiwanese and Chinese national identities. This phenomenon presents a puzzle to the study of national identity in Taiwan, and in general as well. Why, in the fierce confrontation between two national identities in national politics, would most people prefer to see Taiwanese and Chinese national identities as compatible and show their allegiance to both? This dissertation challenges the assumption in previous research that the nature of national identity is exclusive—that it represents an either-or choice or attitude. This assumption has led to the incorrect view that the decline of Chinese national identity and the rise of Taiwanese national identity are two sides of the same coin. Contrary to this conventional view, this study shows that the trajectory of the two identities are actually different processes which have occurred during different historical stages and in different international environments, and that they are the results of different political forces. Taiwanese national identity started to rise in the early 1990’s. Chinese national identity, however, began to decline only after 2000. The past two decades thus witnessed a great proportion of people with dual identity. This study focuses on the factors of state and politics, rather than history and ethnicity, to explain the rise of Taiwanese national identity, and also the phenomenon of dual identity. It is contended that the ethnic base of Taiwanese national identity, with its particular history and language, which has been much emphasized by many political and cultural elites, as well as scholars, constitutes only one route of nation formation. The other more important route is through political participation in the democratic regime. While democratic institutions and practices redefine the de jure territory of the state (the Republic of China), democratic citizenship provides a new base for collective self-understanding. Through participation in democratic political processes, identification with the Taiwan-wide political community is cultivated among the populace. The Taiwanese national identity engendered through this route does not challenge the ethnicity upon which the Chinese national identity is based. It thus is able to co-exist with Chinese national identity. The decline of Chinese national identity is hence not the result of the rise of Taiwanese identity, but of the rise of China. It is argued that the dominance of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the international community along with its staunch One China Principle has removed the important component of the Republic of China (ROC) from the Chinese national identity in Taiwan. Chinese unification now means the elimination of the ROC and to be ruled by the PRC. People who have identified with the ROC no longer opt for a unified great China and hence forgo their Chinese national identity. Based on the study of the phenomenon of dual identity in Taiwan, this dissertation proposes two important theoretical findings. First, contrary to the popular view among the students of nationalism and nationalist politics, it argues that democratization mitigates rather than exacerbates identity politics. Secondly, dual identity is difficult to sustain if the larger nation pursues a state that denies political autonomy to the small nation. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables List of Figures Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 What is the “National Identity Question” in Taiwan? ................................................ 1 Definition of Nation ........................................................................................... 2 The Entanglement of National Identity and the Unification-Independence Issue .................................................................................................................... 3 The Role Nationalism Played in Taiwan’s Political Development ............... 5 Ethnicity in Taiwan ........................................................................................... 7 National Identity Change: Public Opinion .................................................................. 9 Puzzle ........................................................................................................................ 11 Dual Identity in a Comparative Perspective ............................................................. 14 Research Questions and Hypotheses ........................................................................ 17 Research Design ........................................................................................................ 22 Theory: Nation, State, and Democracy ..................................................................... 26 Chapter Arrangement and a Brief Sketch of the Argument ...................................... 32 Possible Theoretical Contributions and Political Implications ................................. 36 Dynamics of National Identity Change in Taiwan, 1991-2008: ....................................... 39 Conceptualization, Measurement, Trends, and Two Phases ............................................. 39 Conventional Measurements ..................................................................................... 40 Conceptualization and Operationalization ................................................................ 47 Validity of the Proposed Measurement ..................................................................... 58 Two Conventional Perspectives ..................................................................... 67 Two Trends ...................................................................................................... 68 The Dynamics of National Identity Change in Taiwan, 1991-2008 ......................... 72 Two Phases of National Identity Change .................................................................. 76 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 79 Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................... 82 Dual National Identity and Democratic Participation: ...................................................... 82 i Explaining the Rise of Taiwanese National Identity, 1991-2000 ..................................... 82 Current Studies on the Rise of Taiwanese National Identity .................................... 83 Theory 1: Taiwanese Nation as a Product of Elite Construction/Mobilization ............................................................................. 83 Theory 2: Taiwanese Nation as Hidden Seed in the Mud of Authoritarianism ............................................................................................. 85 Ethno-nationalism: The Exclusive Taiwanese National Identity ............... 89 A Puzzling Situation ................................................................................................. 89 The Research Question ............................................................................................. 91 The Phenomenon of Dual Identity ............................................................................ 92 Democratic Participation and the Rise of an Inclusive Taiwanese National Identity96 Democracy and National Identity .................................................................. 98 An Island-wide Public Sphere and Shared Political Culture ...................... 99 Empirical Analysis .................................................................................................. 103 Data Source .................................................................................................... 104 Description of the Main Variable, National Identity ................................. 104 Empirical Support of Proposed Arguments ............................................... 105 Statistical Tests ....................................................................................................... 116 A Test of Existing Theories (Model I, Model II, Model III) ..................... 117 A Test of Theory Proposed by This Research (Model A) .........................