The Culture of Taiwan is a hybrid Hybridity refers in its most basic sense to mixture. The term originates from biology and was subsequently employed in linguistics and in racial theory in the nineteenth century. Its contemporary uses are scattered across numerous academic disciplines and is salient in popular culture. This article explains the history of hybridity and its major blend of Confucianist Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . It is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious thought that has had tremendous influence on the culture and history of East Asia. It might be considered a state religion of some East Han Chinese Predominantly Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism. Small Christian, Muslim, Xiantian and other religious minorities. Background of Confucianism and Chinese folk religion, Japanese The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America. After several waves of immigration from the continent and nearby Pacific islands , the inhabitants of Japan experienced a long period of relative, European The culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures. Whether it is a question of North as opposed to South; West as opposed to East; Christianity as opposed to Islam; Protestantism as opposed to Catholicism; many have claimed to identify cultural fault lines across the continent. There are many cultural innovations, American The development of the Culture of the United States of America has been marked by a tension between two strong sources of inspiration: European ideals, especially British; and domestic originality, global Globalization describes a process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a global network of communication, transportation, and trade. The term is sometimes used to refer specifically to economic globalization: the integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign, local and Taiwanese aborigines Taiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Although Taiwanese indigenous groups hold a variety of creation stories, recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han Chinese immigration began in the 17th century (Blust cultures, which are often perceived in both traditional A tradition is any established routine. Usually, routines established in order to preserve a wide range of culturally significant ideas. The word tradition comes from the Latin traditio [meaning: giving up , surrendering, instructing, relating] Today, the word tradition is commonly used to designate specific practices and the various methods used and modern Modernity typically refers to "a post-traditional, post-medieval historical period", in particular, one marked by the move from feudalism toward capitalism, industrialisation, secularization, rationalization, the nation-state and its constituent institutions and forms of surveillance (Barker 2005, 444). Conceptually, modernity relates to understandings.^[1] The common socio-political experience in Taiwan gradually developed into a sense of Taiwanese cultural identity Cultural identity is the identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as one is influenced by one's belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has overlaps with, but is not synonymous with, identity politics and a feeling of Taiwanese cultural awareness, which has been widely debated domestically.^[2] Reflecting the continuing controversy surrounding the political status of Taiwan The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan hinges on whether Taiwan, including Penghu, should remain effectively independent as territory of the Republic of China , become unified with the territories now governed by the People's Republic of China (PRC), or formally declare independence and become the Republic of Taiwan. The, politics continues to play a role in the conception and development of a Taiwanese cultural identity, especially in the prior dominant frame of a Taiwanese Taiwan, also known as Formosa , is an island situated in East Asia in the Western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, and comprises most of the territory of the Republic of China (ROC) since the 1950s. The term "Taiwan" has also become a commonly used alternative name both domestically and and Chinese China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity dualism. In recent years, the concept of Taiwanese multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the acceptance or promotion of multiple ethnic cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations. In this context, multiculturalists advocate extending equitable status to distinct ethnic and religious groups without has been proposed as a relatively apolitical alternative view, which has allowed for the inclusion of mainlanders and other minority groups into the continuing re-definition of Taiwanese culture as collectively held systems of meaning and customary patterns of thought and behavior shared by the people of Taiwan.^[3]

State Cultural Policy Overview

Historical context

Taiwan’s culture and cultural legacy has been largely shaped by the processes of imperialism Imperialism, as defined by The Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." Imperialism has been described as a primarily western concept that employs " and colonization Colonization, , occurs whenever any one or more species populate an area. The term, which is derived from the Latin colere, "to inhabit, cultivate, frequent, practice, tend, guard, respect," originally related to humans. However, 19th century biogeographers dominated the term to describe the activities of birds, bacteria, or plant as the structural and psychological effects of successive colonial projects have been integral to developing Taiwan’s self-image and the evolution of both official and unofficial Taiwanese culture (Yip 2004:2–5). For most of its colonized existence, Taiwan remained on the cultural margins, far from the centers of civil and cultural life of each regime, and with every regime change, Taiwan’s cultural center shifted. At various times Taiwan’s cultural center has been Indigenous Taiwan Taiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Although Taiwanese indigenous groups hold a variety of creation stories, recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han Chinese immigration began in the 17th century (Blust, Amsterdam Amsterdam (pronounced /ˈæmstərdæm/; Dutch [ɑmstərˈdɑm] ) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The city, which had a population (including suburbs) of 1.36 million on 1 January 2008, comprises the northern part of the Randstad, the sixth-largest metropolitan, Xiamen Xiamen , also known as Amoy (English: /ˈæmɔɪ/), is a coastal city in southeastern China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city under Fujian province in the People's Republic of China. It looks out to the Taiwan Strait and borders Quanzhou to the north and Zhangzhou to the south (Amoy), Qing The Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 (with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917). It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China era Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking (pronounced /piːˈkɪŋ/ or /peɪˈkɪŋ/), is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China. Governed as a municipality under direct administration of the central government, Beijing borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and for a small section in the east, and Tianjin, Imperial Japan The Empire of Japan was a Japanese political entity that existed during the period from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until its defeat in World War II in 1945, postwar China China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity and even, arguably, the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language.^[4]

Before the Qing Empire The Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 (with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917). It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895, Taiwan’s culture was characterized by Qing frontier societies of Han ^{[disambiguation needed]} farmers and highland Aborigines Taiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Although Taiwanese indigenous groups hold a variety of creation stories, recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han Chinese immigration began in the 17th century (Blust. Due to Taiwan’s strategic location along East Asian East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. Geographically and geo-politically, it covers about 12,000,000 km2 (4,600,000 sq mi), or about 28 percent of the Asian continent, about 15 percent bigger than the area of Europe trade routes, Taiwanese were also exposed to cosmopolitan influences and the effects of European commerce. By the middle of the Japanese era (1895–1945), Taiwan had begun to shift from local to contemporary global culture, under the guidance of Japanese style “westernization”. Beginning during Japan’s build up for war,^[5] Japan invigorated its policies to Japanize Taiwan for mobilization against the Allies. Japan’s effort taught Taiwan’s elite, Japanese culture and language, but did not largely interfere in religious organization. When Japan’s suppressive wartime policies were lifted following World War II Albania · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burma · Cambodia · Canada · Ceylon (Sri Lanka) · Channel Islands · China · Czechoslovakia · Denmark · Dutch East Indies · Egypt · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland ·, Taiwanese were eager to continue with their prewar cosmopolitan Multiculturalism is the acceptance or promotion of multiple ethnic cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations. In this context, multiculturalists advocate extending equitable status to distinct ethnic and religious groups without activities.^[6] Japan’s colonial legacy has shaped many of the customs and mannerisms of Taiwanese. Japan’s colonial legacy is still visible, due to Japan’s massive effort in constructing Taiwan’s economic infrastructure and industrial base, which is often cited as a major factor in Taiwan’s rapid economic development Economic development is the increase in the amount of people in a nation's population with sustained growth from a simple, low-income economy to a modern, high-income economy. Its scope includes the process and policies by which a nation improves the economic, political, and social well-being of its people.^[7]

KMT Era Cultural Policy

During the early postwar period the Chinese Nationalist Party The Kuomintang of China , translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party or Chinese National People's Party, is a political party of the Republic of China (Taiwan, ROC). It can be seen romanized as Guomindang (according to the Pinyin transcription system) in some contexts. It is the founding and the ruling political party of the ROC. The headquarters “Kuomintang” (KMT) suppressed Taiwanese cultural expression and barred Taiwanese from cosmopolitan life except in the spheres of science and technology (1994 Winckler:29). The authoritarian KMT The Kuomintang of China (KMT); (Hanyu Pinyin: Guómíndǎng, GMD), translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party or Chinese National People's Party, is a political party of the Republic of China (Taiwan, ROC). It can be seen romanized as Guomindang (according to the Pinyin transcription system) in some contexts. It is the founding and the ruling dominated public cultural space and Chinese nationalist networks became a part of cultural institutions, leaving little resource for cultural autonomy to grow.^[8]

Under the early KMT, Taiwan was realigned from a Japanese imperial center to a Chinese nationalist center, under the influence of KMT and American geo-political Geopolitics is the art and practice of using political power over a given territory. Traditionally, the term has applied primarily to the impact of geography on politics, but its usage has evolved over the past century to encompass a wider connotation interests.^[9] Although American cultural activities were modest, they played a significant role in Taiwan’s developing cultural scene. The KMT claimed a loss of morale led to “losing China” and thus the state issued a series of ideological reforms aimed to “retake" China, which became the major state cultural program of the time. The immediate preoccupation with losing China diverted long term investment in the humanities and social sciences. On another level, the state’s main objective was to “sinicize Sinicization, Sinicisation or Sinification, is the linguistic assimilation or cultural assimilation of terms and concepts of the language and culture of China. In linguistics, the term is used narrowly to refer to transliteration” the Taiwanese by teaching them Mandarin Chinese The latter grouping is defined and used mainly by linguists, and is not commonly used outside of academic circles as a self-description. Instead, when asked to describe the spoken form they are using, Chinese speaking a form of non-Standard Mandarin will describe the variant that they are speaking, for example Southwestern Mandarin or Northeastern and Nationalist ideology through compulsory primary education.^[10]

By the late 1940s the KMT had eliminated dissent Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is opposed to individualism and democracy. In politics, an authoritarian government is one in which political power is concentrated in a leader or leaders, typically unelected, who possess exclusive, unaccountable, and arbitrary power for its cultural policies. When Taiwanese had resumed the cultural activities, which were outlawed by the Japanese in 1937, the Nationalist attitude was that Taiwanese had been Japanese “slaves” and would therefore have to complete a period of moral and ideological tutelage before they could enjoy their full rights as citizens of the Republic of China The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, is a state in East Asia comprising the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor islands located off the east coast of mainland China. Neighbouring states include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the west, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south.^[11] The February 28 Incident The 228 Incident, also known as the 228 Massacre, was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on February 27, 1947 and was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang government. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from ten thousand to thirty thousand or more. The Incident marked the beginning of the Kuomintang's White Terror period in destroyed Taiwan’s urban elite and the arrival of the mainlander elite ensured Nationalist domination of urban cultural centers.^[12]

In 1953, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) was a political and military leader of 20th century China issued his first major opinion on culture to complete Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the Father of the Nation. Sun played an instrumental role in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty in October 1911, the last imperial dynasty of China. He was the first provisional president when the Republic of’s Three Principles of the People The Three Principles of the People, also translated as Three People's Principles, or collectively San-min Doctrine, is a political philosophy developed by Sun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to make China a free, prosperous, and powerful nation. Its legacy of implementation is most apparent in the governmental organization of the Republic of China, which included prescribing Nationalist curriculum for education, building facilities for intellectual and physical recreation and the major state cultural program of promoting anti-communist propaganda (Winckler 1994:30). In regard to Taiwanese cultural life, the major thrust was for “universalization” of education in Mandarin, which was enforced by law. Despite the hard-line Chinese control over culture, the Soviet advances in technology led to a new Nationalist focus on building closer cooperation with American universities and developing engineering programs (Wilson 1970). The American presence in Taiwan also encouraged Taiwanese to resume some politically, ethnically neutral cultural activities, which was expressed in a flourishing Taiwanese language media market.^[13]

Between the 1960s and the 1980s Taiwan's culture was commonly described in contrasts between Taiwan (Free China) and China (Communist China), often drawing from the official tropes of Taiwan as a bastion of traditional Chinese culture, which had preserved “true” Chinese values and culture against the “false” Chinese culture of post Communist China. At the same time, Taiwanese cultural expressions were brutally suppressed by Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) was a political and military leader of 20th century China and the Chinese Nationalist Party The Kuomintang of China (KMT); (Hanyu Pinyin: Guómíndǎng, GMD), translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party or Chinese National People's Party, is a political party of the Republic of China (Taiwan, ROC). It can be seen romanized as Guomindang (according to the Pinyin transcription system) in some contexts. It is the founding and the ruling. In response to the Cultural Revolution The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was a violent mass movement that resulted in social, political, and economic upheaval in the People’s Republic of China starting in 1966 and ending officially with Mao's death in 1976. It resulted in nation-wide chaos and economic disarray and stagnation of China, the government of Taiwan began promoting the "Chinese Cultural Renaissance Movement" (中華文化復興運動), with a myriad of programs designed to promote traditional Chinese culture to counter the communist movement on the mainland which aimed at uprooting the "Four Olds". These programs involved subsidized publication of Chinese Classics, the symbolic functions of the National Palace Museum, promoting famous prewar scholars to prominent positions in government and academic institutions, textbook and curriculum design with a focus on the official view of “traditional” Chinese culture and involvement in social and community events and the exemplification of Confucian ideology intertwined with Sun Yat-sen thought.

Taiwanization

After 1975

Bentuhua or Taiwanization/Taiwanese localization has become, arguably, the most important symbol of cultural change over the past twenty years. Bentuhua describes the social and cultural movement by the people of Taiwan to identify with Taiwan’s unique historical and cultural legacy. Bentuhua has often been associated with Taiwan Name Rectification Campaign, Taiwan Independence, and Taiwanese nationalism.

Religion

The prevalent form of religious belief in Taiwan is a blend of Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religion, including ancestor worship.^[14] However, there are also large numbers of devotees to each of these belief systems. ^[15]

Christian churches have been active in Taiwan for many years, a majority of which are Protestant (with 2.6% of the population identifying themselves as Protestant)^[16] with Presbyterians playing a particularly significant role. The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has been active in promoting human rights and the use of the spoken and written Taiwanese (see Pe̍h-ōe-jī), both during Japanese rule, as well as the martial law period of the Republic of China, during which the exclusive use of Mandarin was legally mandated. As such, the church has been associated with the Taiwan Name Rectification Campaign and the pan-green coalition.

A number of Taiwanese religious organizations have extended their operations beyond the country. Several organizations, especially Buddha's Light International Association and Tzu Chi, have extended their operations around the world.

Buddhist-Taoist religious belief makes up 93%, Christian 4.5%, and others 2.5%.^[17]

Food

Taiwanese culture has heavily influenced the west: Pearl milk tea (also known as bubble tea or boba) is a popular tea drink available in many parts of the world. A notable Japanese influence exists due to the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. Taiwanese cuisine itself is often associated with influences from mid to southern provinces of China, most notably from the province of Fujian (Hokkien), but influences from all of China can easily be found due to the large number of Chinese who immigrated to Taiwan at end of the Chinese Civil War and when Taiwan was under Chinese rule (ROC). In the process, Taiwan developed a distinct style of cuisine.

Language

Most people in Taiwan speak both Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese. Mandarin is taught in schools, however most spoken media is split between Mandarin and Taiwanese. Speaking Taiwanese under the Taiwanization movement has become a way for the pro-independence Taiwanese to distinguish themselves from the Mainlanders. The Hakka, who make about 10 percent of the population, speak the distinct Hakka language. The Aboriginal Taiwanese still speak their native languages, but most of them can also speak Mandarin and Taiwanese. English is taught universally, starting with middle school.

Some Japanese words have remained in common day use such as:

• 一極棒 (yijibang) from 一番 (ichiban) which means "the best".
• 便當 (biandang) from 弁当 (bentou) which means "boxed lunch".
• 歐巴桑 (oubasang) from おばさん or おばあさん (obasan / obaasan) which means "auntie" or "granny". The usage of this term can be offensive to women as it implies their youth has faded or refers to the term obatalian, an annoying bossy middle-aged woman.
• 歐吉桑 (oujisang from おじさん or おじいさん (ojisan / ojiisan) which means "uncle" or "gramps".
• 卡拉OK (kala OK) from カラオケ (karaoke) which is an amalgamation of "kara (empty) and orchestra". The usage of this term is in decline in favor of "KTV".

Also developed Taiwan different expressions in Mandarin, which is called Taiwanese Mandarin.

• 土豆 (Tǔdòu, China) and 馬鈴薯 (Mǎlíngshǔ, Taiwan)
• 軟件 (Ruǎnjiàn, China) and 軟體 (Ruǎntǐ, Taiwan)
• 自行車 (Zìxíngchē, China) and 腳踏車 (Jiǎotàchē, Taiwan)

Sometimes the pronunciation with same characters differ such as 垃圾 is in China Lājī and in Taiwan Lèsè.

Media

Taiwan's freedom of press is guaranteed by the Constitution and its worldwide press freedom index ranks at 32 among 169 nations, as of 2007. Taiwan had been under martial law, with strict restrictions on the press and broadcasting, before political liberalization loosened restrictions in the 1980s.

Sports

Popular sports in Taiwan include:

• Badminton
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cheerleading
• Golf
• Martial arts
• Pool
• Swimming
• Table tennis
• Tennis
• Volleyball

The United States National Basketball Association has a substantial following in Taiwan. Popular basketball players such as Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups, Andre Iguodala, Jason Williams, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Grant Hill, Clyde Drexler, Glen Rice, Kobe Bryant, and Scottie Pippen have visited Taiwan.

Athletes from Taiwan compete in international sporting events, often under the banner of "Chinese Taipei" due to China's opposition to the use of "Taiwan" under such circumstances.

Recreation

Karaoke is incredibly popular in Taiwan, where it is termed KTV (Karaoke Television). This is an example of something the Taiwanese have drawn, on scale, from contemporary Japanese culture. Pachinko is another example. During typhoons, many young Taiwanese will spend the day singing karaoke or playing mahjong. Many people enjoy watching miniseries collectively called Taiwanese drama.

Since 1999 hot springs, known as wēnquán in Chinese and onsen in Japanese, have been making a comeback thanks to efforts by the government. Over 100 hot springs have been discovered since the Japanese introduced their rich onsen culture to Taiwan, with the largest concentration on the northernmost part of Taiwan island.

Anime and manga are very popular in Taiwan. Comics, including manga, are called manhua in Taiwan. It is common to see a manga rental shop or a manga store every couple of streets in larger cities.

Convenience store culture

Boasting 8,058 convenience stores in an area of 35,980 km² and a population of 22.9 million, Taiwan has the Asia Pacific’s and perhaps the world’s highest density of convenience stores per person: one store per 2,800 people or .000357 stores per person.^[18]. As of 1 January 2009, Taiwan also has 4,800 7-Eleven stores, and thus the world’s highest density of 7-Elevens per person: one store per 4,786 people or .000210 stores per person.^[19][17] In Taipei, it is not unusual to see two 7-Elevens across the street from or several of them within a few hundred meters of each other.

Because they are found everywhere, convenience stores in Taiwan provide services on behalf of financial institutions or government agencies such as collection of the city parking fee, utility bills, traffic violation fines, and credit card payments. Eighty-one percent of urban household shoppers in Taiwan visit a convenience store each week.^[18] The idea of being able to purchase food items, drink, fast food, magazines, videos, computer games, and so on 24 hours a day and at any corner of a street makes life easier for Taiwan’s extremely busy and rushed population.

Convenience stores include:

• Circle K (Called OK in Taiwan)
• FamilyMart
• Hi-Life
• NikoMart
• 7-11

Cram school Culture

Taiwan, like its neighbors in East Asia, is well-known for its buxiban (補習班), often translated as cram school, and literally meaning "make-up class" or "catch-up class" or to learn more advanced classes. Nearly all students attend some sort of buxiban, whether for mathematics, computer skills, English, other foreign languages, or exam preparation (college, graduate school, TOEFL, GRE, SAT, etc.). This is perpetuated by a meritocratic culture that measures merit through testing, with entrance into college, graduate school, and government service decided entirely on testing. This has also led to a remarkable respect for degrees, including Ph.D.s and overseas Western degrees (US and Great Britain).

English teaching is a big business in Taiwan, with Taiwan, as part of its project to reinvigorate the Taiwan miracle, aiming to become a trilingual country--fluent in Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English. Many teachers come from English-speaking countries, such as the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, and enjoy salaries of about $30,000–$50,000 per year at a low cost of living, with opportunities to manage or open one's own school and make several times that amount a year.

Popular culture

Cell phones are very popular in Taiwan. Mobile penetration rate stands at just over 100%. Because of their high use, phones in Taiwan have many functions and are becoming cheaper.

Internet cafes are very popular with teenagers. They often sell food. Many gamers eat while using the internet. Many parents and teachers are concerned with the amount of time youth spend in the internet cafes.

One of the best known figure in Taiwanese cinema is director Ang Lee, who has also made movies in the West and has won an Academy Award. Some popular pop artists in Taiwan include Leehom Wang, Jay Chou, Show Luo, Jolin Tsai and David Tao. Some of them have gained international fame and toured Asian countries like Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. Since Taiwan is well known for its entertainment scene, some of its TV station has organised talent search to search for new and young talents to join the big family of pop culture here. Some bands like S.H.E are formed in the talent search.

Hip-hop culture from the United States also flourishes in Taiwan. G-Unit and Eminem are also very popular. In this process, Taiwan produced several hip-hop artists, including Dog G, MC HotDog, Machi, and L.A. Boyz. Many young Taiwanese can be seen in throwback jersey, bling-bling, and baggy jeans which shows the effect of hip hop fashion in Taiwan.

Taiwanization of the culture of Taiwan has been a trend since democratisation in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2000, after half a century of Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party rule, the first ever democratic change of ruling parties in Taiwan occurred with the election of Chen Shui-bian and his Taiwan-centric Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), marking an important step towards Taiwanization. While both major political parties, the KMT^{[dubious – discuss]} and the DPP, are generally supportive of Taiwanization, the DPP made Taiwanization a key plank in its political platform. The Chen administration's policies included measures designed to focus on Taiwan while de-emphasizing cultural and historical ties to China. These policies included changes such as revising textbooks and changing school curricula to focus more on Taiwan's own history to the exclusion of China, and changing the names of institutions that contain "China" to "Taiwan". These policies sometimes led to incongruities such as Sun Yat-sen being treated as both a "foreign" (Chinese) historical figure and as the "Father of the Country" (Republic of China). These policies are called Taiwanization but have been attacked by detractors as "desinicization". These policies are applauded by most ethnic Taiwanese and opposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party.

One phenomenon that has resulted from the Taiwanization movement is the advent of Taike subculture, in which people consciously adopt the wardrobe, language and cuisine to emphasize the uniqueness of popular, groundroots Taiwanese culture, which in previous times had often been seen as provincial and brutally suppressed by Chiang Kai-shek.

The Kuomintang took power in 2008 with the election of Ma Ying-jeou to the presidency. The new KMT administration has controversially sought to reverse some of the desinicizing policies of the Chen administration, to various degrees of public support. The restoration of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to its former state has been generally supported. By contrast, a directive by the administration to foreign missions to henceforth refer to visits by foreign dignitaries as "visiting (cultural) China" has been rescinded after criticism from DPP legislators.

Since 1949, Taiwan had managed to develop itself into the center of Chinese pop culture (also known as "C-pop" or 中文流行文化). Today, the Commercial Chinese music industry in the world (esp. Mandopop and Hokkien pop) is still largely dominated by Taiwanese pop artists. Successful Chinese pop artists from other countries (for e.g. Stefanie Sun, JJ Lin from Singapore) are also trained, groomed and marketed in Taiwan. Chinese pop artists from other countries who wish to become successful usually have to go to Taiwan to develop their music career. Mandarin Pop and Taiwanese (Minnan/Hokkien) genre music continue to flourish in Taiwan today.

Ever since 1990s, Taiwanese Variety Shows (綜藝節目） had grown from its home base in Taiwan to other parts of the world. Today, it is widely watched and enjoyed by the Overseas Chinese community in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, America, etc.

See also

• Cinema of Taiwan
• Cuisine of Taiwan
• List of Taiwanese authors
• List of ethnic groups in Taiwan
• Media in Taiwan
• Music of Taiwan
• Photography of Taiwan
• Taiwanese drama
• Taiwanese opera

References

1. ^ (Harrell/Huang 1994:1–5)
2. ^ (Yip 2004:230-248; Makeham 2005:2-8; Chang 2005:224)
3. ^ (Hsiau 2005:125–129); (Winckler 1994:23–41)
4. ^ (Morris 2004:7–31);(Winkler 1994:28–31)
5. ^ (Wachman 1994:6–7)
6. ^ (Mendel 1970:13–14)
7. ^ (Gold 1986:21–32)
8. ^ (Phillips 2003:10–15)
9. ^ (Gold 1994:47)
10. ^ (Wachman 1994:82–88)
11. ^ (Kerr 1965:72;266)
12. ^ (Gates 1981:266–269)
13. ^ (Winckler 1994:32)
14. ^ TIO Gov Taiwan
15. ^ taipei times
16. ^ taipei times
17. ^ ^{a b} "Taiwan". The World Factbook. Directorate of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency. June 26, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tw.html. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
18. ^ ^{a b} Prevzner, Alexander (2004). "Convenience Stores Aim at Differentiation". Taiwan Business TOPICS 34 (11). http://www.amcham.com.tw/content/view/643/306/.
19. ^ "International Licensing". 7-Eleven. 1 January 2009. http://www.7-eleven.com/AboutUs/InternationalLicensing/tabid/115/Default.aspx. Retrieved 1 July 2009.

Citations

• Chang, Maukuei (2005). "The Movement to Indigenize to Social Sciences in Taiwan: Origin and Predicaments" in John Makeham and A-Chin Hsiau (Eds.) Cultural, Ethnic, and Political Nationalism in Contemporary Taiwan: Bentuhua. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781403970206.
• Hsiau, A-Chin (2005). Cultural, Ethnic, and Political Nationalism in Contemporary Taiwan: Bentuhua. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781403970206.
• Huang Chun-chieh (1994). "Introduction" in Cultural Change in Postwar Taiwan. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press. ISBN 0813386322.
• Makeham, John (2005). "Indigenization Discourse in Taiwanese Confucian Revivalism" in John Makeham and A-Chin Hsiau (Eds.) Cultural, Ethnic, and Political Nationalism in Contemporary Taiwan: Bentuhua. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781403970206.
• Winckler, Edwin (1994). "Cultural Policy in Postwar Taiwan" in Stevan Harrell and Huang Chun-chieh (Eds.) Cultural Change in Postwar Taiwan. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press. ISBN 0813386322.
• Yip, June (2004). Envisioning Taiwan: Fiction, Cinema and the Nation in the Cultural Imaginary. Durham, N.C. and London: Duke University Press. ISBN 0822333570, ISBN 0822333678.

External links

• Culture of Taiwan

Categories: Taiwanese culture

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