The legacy of Japan's colonial past : cultural influences on Taiwanese identity and implications for cross-strait relations

In what follows, we will examine how local Taiwanese people during colonial rule where "Japanized" in some respects but displayed a form of resistance in other respects. In the post-war period and especially after Lee Teng-hui assumed office in 1988, local people even displayed a form of "resistance of culture" in their definition and understanding of what is meant by "Taiwanese culture" and "Taiwanese identity." As we shall see, Lee advocated a highly controversial thesis of "two Chinas" in 1999. We argue that this thesis was precisely a result of the "resistance of culture" displayed by local people. We conclude that the history of Taiwan in the last century should be characterized as a mixture of globalisation, cultures of resistance and "resistance of culture." More importantly, Lee's "two Chinas" thesis has become a key issue in the internal politics of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and external politics between Taiwan and China.