When Independence Meets Reality

Symbolic and Pragmatic Politics in Taiwan

Bibliographic Data

ID12423122
AuthorsTse-Min Lin (0000-0002-1072-9773, The University of Texas at Austin), Chun‐ying Wu (0000-0002-5128-8345, Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals, corresponding author), Theodore Charm (0000-0003-4204-3212, The University of Texas at Austin)
Year2023
Volume33
Issue145
Pages30-51
Publication date2023-06-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary China (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1067-0564 • E-ISSN: 1469-9400
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10670564.2023.2218300
OpenAlexW4378977507
LanguageEN
Citations received3

In Taiwan, where relations with China define the major political cleavage, voters have distinct preferences on the issue of independence. Do Taiwanese favor a symbolic or pragmatic approach to the Taiwan independence issue? What are the factors that account for their political preferences? We identify two types of voters, symbolic and pragmatic, according to whether their preferences on independence are conditional or unconditional on China’s potential counter actions. Specifically, symbolic voters have unconditional preferences on independence, while pragmatic voters are more agreeable to independence under more favorable conditions. Using multiple wave data from the Taiwan National Security Surveys (TNSS 2002–2022), we investigate the individual- and macro-level factors and find that gender, age, education level, ethnicity, partisan strength, and economic growth rate shape the types of voters in Taiwan. This paper contributes to the study of political attitudes in Taiwan, and have important implications on the regional stability in East Asia

China · Economics · Ethnic group · Independence (probability theory · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Sociology · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology

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