ABSTRACT
Examples of symbolic events, like those analyzed in chapter 4, are the two public marches organized on the streets of several major cities in Taiwan in the summer of 1995. The first marchers carried signs proclaiming "I am Taiwanese and Taiwan is not part of China." In about a week, the second march featured signs proclaiming "I am Chinese." These two marches not only reflect Taiwan's recent search for a new identity, but also dramatize the identity dilemma faced by the Mainlanders, who came to Taiwan as political refugees in the late 1940s. Though the two marches were reported by the media as a showdown leaving little room for reconciliation, I speculate that the issue of "I am Chinese" or "I am Taiwanese" is more than a matter of choosing sides, especially for the Mainlanders. I wonder, given the changing reality of the Taiwan-China relationship, how do Mainlanders cope with the increasing pressure for Taiwanization or localization, as illustrated in chapter 4? How would Mainlanders live with Taiwanese? Do the different generations of Mainlanders respond to "Taiwanese Ascendancy" (to the top political positions) in similar ways? Besides, how do Mainlanders position themselves, both politically and culturally, in relation to Taiwan and China? How would Mainlanders regard the Mainland hometowns while they continue to settle in Taiwan? Questions like these represent a sample of the concerns in this chapter.
