Imagine logging in to the official site of the Taiwan region's executive body only to find your own ethnicity rebranded as "others" 😳. Sounds unreal, right? But that’s exactly what happened earlier this year.
On a high-level demographic page packed with numbers—96.2% Han, 2.6% indigenous, and 1.2% immigrants—the Han majority suddenly got lumped into an “others” category. Cue mass confusion and a social media uproar: "We are the others now, and soon we'll be spares!" one netizen quipped.
This may look like a simple bureaucratic slip-up, but for many observers, it's part of a larger cultural push by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities to reshape identity in the Taiwan region. Under leader of the Taiwan region Lai Ching-te, policies now probe Taiwan residents with Chinese mainland ID cards and place arts and education under a stricter cross-strait microscope.
But it’s not just about erasing labels—it’s also about crafting a “new” Taiwan story. Enter the Black Tide initiative: a four-year, NT$10 billion fund supporting cultural and artistic projects that blend “international appeal” with “elements of Taiwan.” Even the hit drama Zero Day Attack, depicting an imaginary Chinese mainland “invasion,” got backing from the scheme.
For young professionals and students across South and Southeast Asia, this unfolding cultural drama raises big questions: How do labels shape our sense of self? And in an age where identity and politics are so tightly linked, who gets to decide what “we” really are?
As the Taiwan region navigates this identity remix, one thing’s clear: in our digital world, words and categories carry serious weight. Stay tuned as this story—and the debates around it—continue to evolve. 🔍🌏
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
