ABSTRACT
History offers many examples of contested sovereignty and secession movements. Bangladesh and, more recently, Croatia and Slovenia succeeded. In contrast, Biafra, South Vietnam, and East Germany failed to survive as independent states. The Confederacy in the U.S. civil war was also defeated in its attempt to break away from the Union. There are of course a variety of causes contributing to these different outcomes. Other colleagues are better trained to explain these divergent outcomes, I present in this chapter political attitudes held by people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. To what extent do members of these communities share similar or different political beliefs and values?
