ABSTRACT
Taiwanese schools were teaching an invented geography as part of the Chinese Nationalist Party's ideological apparatus of social control. In its drive to combine national development with Chinese national culture, the Chinese Nationalist state extended its apparatus of social control deep into Taiwanese society. The family is by far the most influential institution in Taiwan, just as it is in most societies of the world. Taiwanese women keep their fathers' surnames at marriage. The New Year's rituals in Taiwanese society are not merely a random gathering of kin but clearly define who belongs to which family. The Japanese were depicted as cruel, militaristic barbarians who had enslaved both Korea and Taiwan and inflicted great damage to China. The Chinese Nationalists made their physical mark on the islands cities, tearing down Shinto shrines and other Japanese monuments. Confucianism is the basis of cultural identity in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, as well as in China and Taiwan.
