Changing Multicultural Attitudes and Their Determinants in Taiwan: A Quantitative Analysis of 2008 and 2018

Taiwan’s democratization has been accompanied by profound shifts in its ethnic landscape and cultural identity. In addition to the four established groups—Indigenous peoples, Hoklo, Hakka, and Mainlanders—a “fifth group” of migrant workers and marriage migrants from Southeast Asia has reconfigured national discourses on multiculturalism. Drawing on nationally representative data from the Taiwan Social Change Survey (2008– 2018), this study traces evolving public attitudes toward multiculturalism. The findings reveal a steady rise in multicultural acceptance over the decade, paralleled by a decline in ethnocentrism. Endorsement of globalization consistently predicted higher acceptance, while ethnocentrism remained the most significant barrier. Intimate contact with marriage migrants fostered greater social closeness, and the effect of general contact strengthened over time. Younger age, higher educational attainment, and weaker adherence to Confucian values were also positively associated with inclusive attitudes. These results underscore the importance of ideological orientation and the quality of contact in shaping multicultural attitudes within democratizing contexts.