Between Principle and Pragmatism:The Unification-Independence Choice of the Taiwanese People

Volume: 

13

Number: 

2

Published date: 

December, 2009

Authors: 

Shu Keng
Jia-wei Liu
Lu-huei Chen

Abstract: 

The position of the Taiwanese people over unification-independence issue assumes enormous practical importance and at the same time attracts numerous scholarly debates. The primary concern of these debates is how to clarify the issue entangled with “principles” and “pragmatism” and then uncover the genuine preferences of the Taiwanese people. For the purpose, lots of measurements have been developed and evaluated. The focus of the paper is those who prefer “status-quo” in the traditional unification-independence measurement. As our interviews suggest, the “status-quo” for many Taiwanese is more often a practical choice without enough alternatives than an expression of preference without substantial constraints. Given such understanding, the study thus introduces Wu’s “conditional questions” to help separate people’s preference from practicality. With both “genuine preferences” and “practical choice” at hand, the paper goes on to find out who persistently uphold their principles and who else withdraw and stay with a more practical “status-quo”.

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