https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9404-401X
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ABSTRACT
The narrative of Chinese culture occupied the central position in Taiwan’s cultural policy agenda after the Kuomintang (KMT) retreated to the island in 1949, but the primary (if not exclusive) focus on Chinese culture became contentious after democratisation and bentuhua (“Taiwanisation”) in the late 1980s. This prompted the KMT to redesign and renegotiate its cultural policy objectives in accordance with the changing political climate. Nevertheless, as shown in this article, these revisions were not as extensive or as progressive as one might have anticipated. This study examines the roles and meanings attached to Chinese culture by the KMT in the context of urban cultural policy. Drawing on interviews with local policymakers and policy document analysis, it explores cultural policy in Taipei during the KMT’s incumbency in the city (1998–2014), arguing that despite the adoption of multiculturalism and bentuhua narratives at the national and municipal levels of government, the KMT’s version of Chinese culture continued to dominate cultural policy discourse in Taipei until as late as 2014.
臺灣都市文化政策所含的中國性
國民黨在1949年自大陸撤退到臺灣後，對華人文化的敘事一直是臺灣島內文化政策的核心。但是自1980年代後期以來，因為民主化和「本土化」（「臺灣化」）的崛起，國民黨專注中國文化的政策已經成為一個具爭議性的話題。這促使該黨領導層必須根據不斷變化的政治氛圍，重新制定及修正其文化政策的目標。儘管如此，如本文所述，這些修訂幅度並不廣，而且其內容也如蜻蜓點水。本研究探討在城市文化政策的背景下，國民黨對華人文化所賦予的角色和意義。透過對當地政策制定者的訪談，及對政策文件資料的分析，本研究探討在國民黨執政時期下（1998–2014年）台北市的文化政策。本研究指出，儘管多元文化與「本土化」成為了中央及地方政府的政見，但一直到2014年末，國民黨對華人文化的敘述仍主導著台北市的文化政策。
Notes
1. For a notable exception, see L. Wang (Citation2004).
2. A total of 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted, including four interviews with senior-level former city government officials who were directly involved in shaping cultural policies in Taipei under the KMT leadership. A thematic data analysis was conducted using NVivo qualitative data analysis software.
3. Mandarin Chinese is another instructive example of supposedly “unchanging” Chineseness. Under KMT rule it was declared a “national language” (guoyu) of the island. To date in Taiwan, guoyu stands for “Standard Chinese” despite its numerous differences from Standard Chinese on the mainland (putonghua) in terms of phonology, grammar and vocabulary (see Li, Citation1985). As with any other language, Taiwanese Mandarin has changed over the years, further diverging from putonghua due to the influence of local dialects, expanded vocabulary, and long-lasting isolation from the mainland.
4. Despite an obvious interplay between Chineseness and Chinese culture (huaren wenhua), these two terms should not be used interchangeably. Chinese culture, or rather a perception of a shared “Chinese” culture, is a backbone of Chineseness. Chineseness is broader in meaning as it refers to the constructed sense of a shared ethnic-cultural identity and value system, which means that it also incorporates shared moral codes, ethnicity and language.
5. The term “local Taiwanese” (benshengren) commonly refers to three ethnic groups in Taiwan, including the indigenous Taiwanese, the Hakka and the Hoklo. The last two groups moved to Taiwan from mainland China centuries ago. The term “mainlanders” or “outsiders” (waishengren) is used to describe the ethnic Chinese who moved to Taiwan after 1945.
6. Lee Teng-hui (in office from 1988 to 2000) was the first directly elected president of the ROC. He was one of the most progressive members of the KMT party, commonly credited for embracing and promoting Taiwan’s democratisation and bentuhua.
7. To avoid bentuhua being confused with taiwanhua, which can also be translated as “Taiwanisation”, some scholars suggest using alternative translations, such as “localisation” or “indigenisation”. However, “indigenisation” somewhat narrows the scope of bentuhua, because it may appear to be focussed primarily on the indigenous Taiwanese. “Localisation”, on the other hand, “fits too closely with the Chinese view of Taiwan as a ‘local’ government” (Jacobs, Citation2005, p. 18). To avoid adding more ambiguity to the existing debate, the original term bentuhua is used in this article.
8. This struggle between the “mainlander” and the “islander” identities made for what has been termed “the most contentious issue in Taiwan society” (Ngo & Wang, Citation2011, p. 2). It should be noted, however, that one cannot separate “mainlanders” from “locals” so easily, as these “mainlanders” have increasingly assimilated with other ethnic groups over the years (for more, see Corcuff, Citation2011).
9. In this context, de-Sinicisation refers to the rejection of the KMT’s version of Chinese nationalism.
10. This reform was initiated under Chen’s predecessor Lee Teng-hui in the late 1990s. To provide a more balanced, detailed and accurate understanding of the history, society and geography of Taiwan, a new series of textbooks entitled Getting to Know Taiwan (Renshi Taiwan) was introduced for junior high-school students in 1997. These textbooks caused much dispute and controversy that long outlasted Lee’s presidency (see F. Wang, Citation2005).
11. While it was the first direct election after democratisation, it was not the first direct election in the history of Taipei. Before 1994, the last direct election in Taipei took place in 1964. Between 1964 and 1994, the mayors of the two largest cities on the island – Taipei and Kaohsiung – were appointed by the Executive Yuan.
12. The TCC is directly elected by the citizens of Taipei. It approves or vetoes the plans put forth by the city government.
13. On the high-tech sector in China, see Xing (Citation2014); on environmental issues, see Zhang et al. (Citation2012); on the arts and cultural sector, see Creemers (Citation2015).
14. Between 2012 and 2014, Lung Ying-tai also served as the first minister of the ROC Ministry of Culture.
15. Ma Ying-jeou was re-elected for a second term as mayor of Taipei city in 2002. In 2008, he was elected president of the ROC, and served two terms until 2016.
16. According to the annual survey conducted by the National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center, in Citation2020 around 67 per cent of people in Taiwan identified as “Taiwanese”, whereas in 1992 only 17.6 per cent held this view, with the majority identifying as “both Taiwanese and Chinese” (National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center, Citation2020).
17. In November 2018, Mayor Ko was re-elected for a second term in office.