Booker Prize winner Yang Shuang-zi explores Taiwanese identity

Yang Shuang-zi spoke to DW during the Frankfurt Book Fair about “Taiwan Travelogue,” a story of a writer touring Japanese-colonized Taiwan in May 1938. Yang presents a version of Taiwan that many readers may not know.

CultureTaiwan

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

CultureTaiwanhttps://p.dw.com/p/5ODYy

After losing the civil war to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1949, the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) government retreated to the island of Taiwan where it established the Republic of China (ROC) regime, while CCP established the People’s Republic of China (PRC). ROC remains Taiwan’s official name. 

However, prior to that, Taiwan was inhabited by Austronesian indigenous peoples for thousands of years, as well as immigrants from China who had come hundreds of years earlier. Taiwan also experienced Dutch and Japanese colonization. 

Beijing claims Taiwan as a breakaway province and has long threatened to use force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan’s democratically elected president has rejected Beijing’s assertion that its laws apply to Taiwan. 

Taiwan has operated as a de facto independent democracy since 1949, maintaining its own government, military and legal systems while facing ongoing military pressure from Beijing. Nowadays, the vast majority of Taiwanese people identify as Taiwanese rather than Chinese. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About the Author

Easy WordPress Websites Builder: Versatile Demos for Blogs, News, eCommerce and More – One-Click Import, No Coding! 1000+ Ready-made Templates for Stunning Newspaper, Magazine, Blog, and Publishing Websites.

BlockSpare — News, Magazine and Blog Addons for (Gutenberg) Block Editor

Search the Archives

Access over the years of investigative journalism and breaking reports