ABSTRACT
Most of the existing publications on cross-Strait relations are macro-level analyses. They analyze structural issues and changes at the macro level, ranging from political conflicts, economic interdependence and triangular relations (Cabestan 1995, 27–50; Wu 1995, 51–26; Clark 2001, 27–53; Clark 2002, 753–766; Clark 2003, 195–215; Keng and Lin 2011, 139–155). Although these macro-level analyses are important for policy making and making sense of major changes in cross-Strait relations, they seem to have big limitations in understanding and analyzing the attitudinal changes of ordinary people involved in cross-Strait contacts. With growing social contacts across the Strait over the last three decades, scholars are increasingly puzzled with questions such as: how do people from the both sides of the Strait perceive each other? Do they change their perception and attitude toward each other or still view each other in the “us-vs.-them” context? Because more and more people believe that these contacts are gradually and constantly reshaping the social context of the current cross-Strait relations, micro-level analyses of perception and attitudinal changes are necessary for us to make long-term forecasts of the future of cross-Strait relations.
