ABSTRACT
The Kuo Min Tang (KMT) had an incentive to adopt Taiwanization policies so as to make up for its legitimacy deficit, which stemmed from decades of authoritarianism and Chinese cultural imperialism. Facing a public increasingly apathetic to identity politics, the DPP showed little genuine interest in the Taiwanese language recognition movement and refused to commit to it beyond token measures. Recent social movements and electoral results testify to the extent of the changes that have been occurring in Taiwanese politics and society. If Taiwan's youths seem to be growing wary of ethnic and identity politics, they remain largely sympathetic to Taiwanization in the form of cultural recognition. On the cultural front, the DPP is now in a position to make significant changes to Taiwan's ethnolinguistic landscape. Tsai's apology, and her promise to grant Aboriginal communities tangible land rights and benefits, may be the precursor of a new trend in Taiwanese culture politics.
