Read on Twitter
Wanted to take a moment to explain how a tweet like this feels to someone involved in Taiwan advocacy and & to offer answers to the 3 questions, which are both a) valid & b) ones that Taiwanese people get asked constantly w/the intention of undercutting TW's separate existence 1/ https://twitter.com/Zishi_Zhang/status/1301810745630494722
1st, I want to note that I defended Zishi & other Chinese students at Warwick who voted down a resolution in support of the Hong Kong protests. They deserve the same rights as any other students to engage in democratic processes at their universities 2/ https://twitter.com/catielila/status/1265301645115695104?s=20
2nd this was the Tweet that prompted our exchange. The comments are filled w/"ethnic Chinese diaspora" proving my point for me: this community as multifaceted as it is, includes many who take it upon themselves to police Taiwanese identity & sovereignty 3/ https://twitter.com/catielila/status/1301784663392886784?s=20
These questions probably feel like winning talking points to those who ask them. To me they sound like being pushed the 100th time: "No, but where are you *really* from?" - especially after someone's already indicated they think Taiwan belongs to China 4/ https://twitter.com/Zishi_Zhang/status/1301810745630494722?s=20
To the questions 
: "Is Taiwanese an actual different race or political collective?"
* Political collective is a great way to describe what it means to be Taiwanese. It's an identity that consolidated around shared beliefs in democracy, multiculturalism & self-determination 5/
: "Is Taiwanese an actual different race or political collective?"* Political collective is a great way to describe what it means to be Taiwanese. It's an identity that consolidated around shared beliefs in democracy, multiculturalism & self-determination 5/
"If the current residents are “Taiwanese”, what about indigenous Taiwanese people before ROC?"
* This question betrays a misconception - that before the KMT fled, there were few people here. In fact, the vast majority of today's population is descended of pre-1949 arrivals 6/
* This question betrays a misconception - that before the KMT fled, there were few people here. In fact, the vast majority of today's population is descended of pre-1949 arrivals 6/
* These demographics are important for understanding why "unification" has little purchase for Taiwanese. A small minority of people here today are descended from families separated in the Chinese Civil War. The preexisting population was never given a say in accepting the ROC 7/
* Today, the great majority of people living here - whatever their family background - identify as "Taiwanese" (this is a multiethnic "political collective", after all ). Even the grandchildren of soldiers & refugees from the Chinese Civil War. 8/ https://frozengarlic.wordpress.com/2020/06/20/recent-changes-in-national-identity/
). Even the grandchildren of soldiers & refugees from the Chinese Civil War. 8/ https://frozengarlic.wordpress.com/2020/06/20/recent-changes-in-national-identity/
* For anyone interested in the evolution of #Taiwanese identity - a modern invention born from Japanese & ROC colonialism & strengthened today by the threats of the PRC - here is an hour-long webinar I put together for @5Colleges (+ a reading list) 9/ https://twitter.com/catielila/status/1233965536310153217?s=20
I put together for @5Colleges (+ a reading list) 9/ https://twitter.com/catielila/status/1233965536310153217?s=20
"If current residents are Taiwanese what about indigenous Taiwanese before the ROC?"
* I hope PRC nationalists can hear how off-putting it sounds when they use indigenous TWese as a "gotcha". The PRC doesn't even recognize the category of indigeneity, only ethnic minorities 10/
* I hope PRC nationalists can hear how off-putting it sounds when they use indigenous TWese as a "gotcha". The PRC doesn't even recognize the category of indigeneity, only ethnic minorities 10/
* Han chauvinism is a big problem in #Taiwan, too. So much work remains to be done to respect and restore indigenous sovereignty. The PRC taking over and reducing Taiwanese aborigines to "ethnic minorities" in their own homelands is not it, however 11/ https://twitter.com/jessicadrun/status/1082821278753542144?s=20
Finally, "Surely there are people in Taiwan sympathetic to Beijing?"
* There are also people in Beijing sympathetic to Taiwan. So...why not let them decide PRC policy? You might object - "They're a minority!" But maybe not smaller than the # of Taiwanese who want annexation 12/
* There are also people in Beijing sympathetic to Taiwan. So...why not let them decide PRC policy? You might object - "They're a minority!" But maybe not smaller than the # of Taiwanese who want annexation 12/
* According to a 2020 study by @FangYu_80168, @wearytolove & team:
1) Taiwanese are far more likely to support declaring independence when doing so does not trigger a Chinese attack.
2) The majority of the public opposes unification with China
13/ https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/what-do-taiwans-people-think-about-their-relationship-to-china/
1) Taiwanese are far more likely to support declaring independence when doing so does not trigger a Chinese attack.
2) The majority of the public opposes unification with China
13/ https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/what-do-taiwans-people-think-about-their-relationship-to-china/
PRC diaspora have little-to-no influence over PRC policy, other "ethnic Chinese diaspora" even less so. But they do have an impact on how Taiwanese people - who lack formal recognition on all levels - move through the world. Harassed & condescended to, or treated with dignity 14/
