Divided, We Stand in Agreement: The Obstructive Role of National Identity in Contemporary Taiwanese Society

In the international arena, “Taiwan” brings to mind the conflict between Chinese dominance and American hegemony. Discourse surrounding Taiwan itself centers on its independence or unification with China. In media and popular consciousness, Taiwan’s preference for independence or unification is attributed to a difference in national identities—“Chinese” or “Taiwanese.” This reductive view masks the unique ways in which individuals in Taiwan construct their national identities, particularly given the lack of agreed definitions for basic terminology such as “Taiwan” or “Taiwanese.” Yet, qualitative data shows that national identity has little practical relevance in society, as the general consensus is that peacekeeping via maintenance of the status quo is the only current logical course of action. Despite proof of the population’s pragmatic indifference towards national identity, Taiwan’s primary political parties, the Kuomintang (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) persist in upholding the reductive symbolic national identity as the representative issue in Taiwanese politics, overshadowing even uncontroversial questions of economic reform. In contrast, the recently-formed Taiwan People’s Party and their leader, Ke Wen-zhe, claim to offer a way out of this dichotomy, actively criticizing the KMT and DPP’s political theater. Indeed, most acknowledge the unproductively divisive power of symbolic national identity, and perceive economic questions to be the most urgent to address. Then, the unprecedentedly high level of youth support for Ke Wen-zhe, a first-time third-party candidate, in the 2024 presidential elections may be one visible manifestation of societal frustration towards the roadblock of national identity to social, economic, and political progress.