|
Ethnic Groups The ROC's population was estimated in 2005 at 22.9 million, most of whom are on Taiwan. About 98% of the population is of Han Chinese ethnicity. Of these, 86% are descendants of early Han immigrants known as "native Taiwanese". This group contains two subgroups: the Southern Fujianese or "Hokkien" or "Min-nan" (70% of the total population), who migrated from the coastal Southern Fujian (min-nan) region in the southeast of Mainland China; and the Hakka (15% of the total population), who originally migrated south to Guangdong, its surrounding areas and Taiwan, intermarrying extensively with Taiwanese aborigines. The remaining 12% of Han Chinese are known as Mainlanders and are composed of and descend from immigrants who arrived after the Second World War. This group also includes those who fled mainland China in 1949 following the Nationalist defeat in the Chinese Civil War.Dalu ren refers to residents of mainland China. This group excludes almost all Taiwanese, including the Mainlanders, except recent immigrants from mainland China, such as those made ROC citizens through marriage. It also excludes foreign brides from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines or foreign grooms of which a greater number come from Western countries. One in seven marriages now involves a partner from another country. As Taiwan's birthrate is among the lowest in the world, this contingent is playing an increasingly important role in changing Taiwan's demographic makeup. The other 2% of Taiwan's population, numbering about 440,000, are listed as the Taiwanese aborigines, divided into 12 major groups: Ami, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Puyuma, Rukai, Tsou, Saisiyat, Yami, Thao, Kavalan and Taroko. Taiwan Information: Inside
|
About 80% of the people in Taiwan belong to the Holo ethnic group and speak both Mandarin and Taiwanese. Mandarin is the primary language of instruction in schools; however, most spoken media is split between Mandarin and Taiwanese. The Hakka, about 10% of the population, have a distinct Hakka language. Aboriginal minority groups still speak their native languages, although most also speak Mandarin. English is a common second language, with many large private schools such as Hess providing English instruction. English also features on several of Taiwan's education exams. Although Mandarin is still the language of instruction in schools and dominates television and radio, non-Mandarin languages have undergone a revival in public life in Taiwan. A large fraction of the populace speaks Taiwanese, a variant of Min-nan, and a majority understand it. Many also speak Hakka. Between 1900 and 1945, Japanese was the medium of instruction, so older people educated during that period speak it. Some in the older generations only speak the Japanese they learned at school and the Taiwanese they spoke at home and are unable to communicate with many in the modern generations who only speak Mandarin. Most aboriginal groups in Taiwan have their own languages which, unlike Taiwanese or Hakka, do not belong to the Chinese language family, but rather to the Austronesian language family. The national phonetic system of the ROC is still used on Taiwan. That is Zhuyin Fuhao, or "Symbols for Annotating Sounds", often abbreviated as Zhuyin, or known as Bopomofo after the first four letters of this Chinese phonemic alphabet (bo po mo fo). It is used for teaching the Chinese languages, especially Standard Mandarin, to people learning to read, write, and speak Mandarin. The romanization of Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan is inconsistent. Although the national government officially adopted Tongyong Pinyin in 2002, it allowed local governments to make their own choices. Taipei, Taiwan's largest city, has adopted Hanyu Pinyin, replacing earlier signage, most of which had been in a bastardized version of Wade-Giles. Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second-largest city, has adopted Tongyong. Elsewhere in Taiwan, signs tend to be in a mixture of systems, with the most common overall being MPS2, which was official before the adoption of Tongyong Pinyin. Because romanization is not taught in Taiwan schools and there has been little political will to ensure that it is implemented correctly, romanization errors are common throughout Taiwan; at present the area with the fewest errors on official signage is Taipei. As the Pan-Blue bloc has largely aligned itself behind Hanyu Pinyin and the Pan-Green bloc has largely backed Tongyong Pinyin, Pan-Blue victories in the 2005 county elections are likely to result in an expansion of the use of Hanyu Pinyin, especially in northern and central Taiwan. Most people in Taiwan have their names romanized using a modified version of Wade-Giles. This, however, is generally not out of personal preference but rather a tendency to use the system that most reference materials in Taiwan have employed to date. |
||||
93% of Taiwanese are adherents of a combination of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism; 4.5% identify themselves as Christians, including Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, and other non-denominational Christian groups; and 2.5% are adherents of other religions, such as Islam and Judaism. Confucianism is a philosophy that deals with secular moral ethics, and serves as the foundation of both Chinese and Taiwanese culture. The majority of Taiwanese usually combine the secular teachings of Confucianism with whatever religions they are affiliated with. One especially important goddess for Taiwanese people is Matsu, who symbolizes the seafaring spirit of Taiwan's ancestors from Fujian and Guangdong.
|
Taiwan's mainstream culture is primarily derived from traditional Chinese culture, with significant influences also from Japanese and American cultures, especially in the areas of politics and architecture. Fine arts, folk traditions, and popular culture embody traditional and modern Asian and Western motifs. After the retreat to Taiwan, the Nationalists took steps to preserve traditional Chinese culture and suppress the local Taiwanese culture. The government launched a program promoting Chinese calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, folk art, and Chinese opera. Since the Taiwan localization movement of the 1990s, Taiwan's cultural identity has been allowed greater expression. Identity politics, along with the over 100 years of political separation from mainland China, 50 of which were under Japanese colonial rule, has led to distinct traditions in many areas, including cuisine, opera, and music. The status of Taiwanese culture is a subject of debate. Along with the political status of Taiwan, it is disputed whether Taiwanese culture is a segment of Chinese culture (due to the Han ethnicity and a shared language and traditional customs with mainland Chinese) or a distinct culture separate from Chinese culture (due to the long period of recent political separation and the past colonization of Taiwan). Speaking Taiwanese under the localization movement has become an emblem of Taiwanese identity. |
