| Summary: | 碩士 === 淡江大學 === 大陸研究所 === 90 === Lee Teng-hui had been Taiwan’s president from 1988 to 2000, and during his 12 years rule, a series of political revolutions had been launched. However, those revolutions had also overturned the national identification of people in Taiwan, deviating cross-Strait relationship from “one-China” track. This thesis focuses on the discussions of factors that propelled Lee Teng-hui to initiate those revolutions, how they eventually affected cross-Strait relationship, and how people in Taiwan should deal with these changes.
From the approach of socialization, this study provides the personal and psychological background of Lee Teng-hui and by comparing the differences between Chinese and Japanese culture to explore the phenomenon of the loss of national identification of people in Taiwan after the reign of Japan for 50 years. Although government of Kuomintang instilled new political thoughts into the minds of people in Taiwan, the embedded discontents of Taiwan society became apparent when deeply Japanized Lee Teng-hui became Taiwan’s president, and to some extent led Taiwan back to the familiar scenarios during Japanese occupation─hold China in contempt and hostility instead of in antagonism with China’s Communist Party solely as in the times of President Chiang Kaishek and Chiang Chiang-Kuo. The dilemma is that while people in Taiwan despise and is hostile to Mainland China, they also find no national identification to turn to, that’s because the cultural and consanguineous bondage has actually made it hard for people in Taiwan to really break away from Mainland China. However, it’s the obfuscation of people in Taiwan as well as the obfuscation of Lee Teng-hui.
The disputes concerning national identification under Lee Teng-hui’s rule had their historical origins. People in Taiwan didn’t have corresponding process of political socialization, which meant different group of people had gone through different processes and formed various political consciousnesses. These political consciousnesses can be classified into three types: first, those who refuse to identify themselves as Chinese, most of them are Taiwanese; second, those who identify themselves as Chinese but contest KMT government and Communist Party. These people still cling to the influence of Chinese culture but regard themselves as victims of KMT rule; third, those who identify themselves as Chinese, loyal to KMT and against Communist Party. Generally they are Chinese coming to Taiwan in 1949, and had already made their political choice at the time. As Taiwan has become a more open and plural society, self-opinion and the reality of the coexistence of the above three political consciousnesses at the same time have become the causes of long-term political strife.
This thesis contains six chapters, beginning with the causes and the transitions of cross-Strait relationship, underlying political consciousness and personalities of Lee Teng-hui. The main contention starts from chapter four and is concludes in chapter six, with analyses of the influence of political policies of Lee Teng-hui toward cross-Strait relationship.
Finally, I come to the conclusion that culture can genuinely have a deep effect on an individual’s thoughts and his modes of behavior. “The cultural effect on human beings is very much alike to genetic or instinctive effect on animals,” and people in Taiwan are driven by their cultural differences unconsciously, so is Lee Teng-hui’s rule.
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