Very interesting indeed! How important do you think is it for the rest of the world to see China and Taiwan as completely separate entities? Do you feel like it represents a real geopolitical advantage for Taiwan? Or is it important mainly as an sign of respect and recognition for how taiwanese people actually identify?
China and Taiwan are two separate, sovereign, independent countries. The sooner the rest of the world understands that, the better. If the world is under the mistaken impression that Taiwan is part of China or somehow not sovereign, it imperils global support for maintaining that status quo. Additionally, as you note, it is important to respect the Taiwanese people by recognizing their distinctness and sovereignty as a nation.
"the overwhelming majority of Taiwanese who do not see themselves as Chinese"
But of course they are ethnically Chinese in equally overwhelming majorities. I understand that this issue produces a lot of tribal reactions to go along with political disagreement but you can't just wish away the generic ancestry of an entire country.
You would do well to ask Taiwanese how they actually identify, fortunately, there is extensive survey data going back many years on this, as of the latest results, 62% see themselves solely as Taiwanese, 31.7% as both Taiwanese and Chinese, and merely 2.5% as "Chinese."
They also do not see themselves as belonging to the nation known as "China," or the PRC, which this arrival card and these other labels imply.
Very interesting indeed! How important do you think is it for the rest of the world to see China and Taiwan as completely separate entities? Do you feel like it represents a real geopolitical advantage for Taiwan? Or is it important mainly as an sign of respect and recognition for how taiwanese people actually identify?
China and Taiwan are two separate, sovereign, independent countries. The sooner the rest of the world understands that, the better. If the world is under the mistaken impression that Taiwan is part of China or somehow not sovereign, it imperils global support for maintaining that status quo. Additionally, as you note, it is important to respect the Taiwanese people by recognizing their distinctness and sovereignty as a nation.
"the overwhelming majority of Taiwanese who do not see themselves as Chinese"
But of course they are ethnically Chinese in equally overwhelming majorities. I understand that this issue produces a lot of tribal reactions to go along with political disagreement but you can't just wish away the generic ancestry of an entire country.
You would do well to ask Taiwanese how they actually identify, fortunately, there is extensive survey data going back many years on this, as of the latest results, 62% see themselves solely as Taiwanese, 31.7% as both Taiwanese and Chinese, and merely 2.5% as "Chinese."
They also do not see themselves as belonging to the nation known as "China," or the PRC, which this arrival card and these other labels imply.
https://esc.nccu.edu.tw/PageDoc/Detail?fid=7800&id=6961
Freddie, I think you’re a bit out of your element on this one.