Taiwanese people

Taiwanese people
Total population
26,193,616
Regions with significant populations
Taiwan23,888,275[1]
United States373,943[2]–964,000[3]
China404,000[4]
Indonesia210,000[3]
Canada69,550[5]–173,000[3]
Thailand145,000[3]
Japan52,768[6]
Brazil38,000[3]
Vietnam72,000[3]
Malaysia44,000[7]
Brunei38,000[7]
Australia34,000[3]
South Korea30,985[8]
Singapore30,000[7]
France12,000[3]
Argentina11,000[7]
Languages
Religion
Related ethnic groups
Taiwanese people
Traditional Chinese臺灣人
Simplified Chinese台湾人
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinTáiwān rén
Bopomofoㄊㄞˊ ㄨㄢ ㄖㄣˊ
Gwoyeu RomatzyhTair'uan ren
Wade–GilesT'ai2-wan1 jen2
Tongyong PinyinTáiwan rén
MPS2Táiwān rén
IPA[tʰǎɪ.wán ɻə̌n]
Hakka
RomanizationThòi-vàn ngìn
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationTòih Wāan yàhn4
JyutpingToi4 Waan1 jan4
IPA[tʰɔj˩ wan˥ jɐn˩]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJTâi-oân-lâng
Tâi-lôTâi-uân lâng
Eastern Min
Fuzhou BUCDài-uăng ìng
Min name
Traditional Chinese臺灣儂
Simplified Chinese台湾侬
Transcriptions
Southern Min
Hokkien POJTâi-oân-lâng
Tâi-lôTâi-uân lâng

Taiwanese people[I] are the citizens and nationals of the Republic of China (ROC) and those who reside in an overseas diaspora from the entire Taiwan Area. The term also refers to natives or inhabitants of the island of Taiwan and its associated islands. The term generally applies to inhabitants on the island of Taiwan who share a common culture, ancestry and speak Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, or indigenous Taiwanese languages as a mother tongue. After the ROC government's retreat to Taiwan in 1949, the actual-controlled territories of the government were limited to the main island of Taiwan and Penghu, whose administration were transferred from Japan in 1945, along with a few outlying islands in Fujian Province which include Kinmen and Matsu Islands. Nowadays, Taiwanese people as a demonym may broadly refer to the indigenous peoples of Kinmen and Matsu as they share the same national identity with people of Taiwan. However, the islanders of Kinmen and the Matsu may not consider the "Taiwanese" label to be accurate as they were traditionally a part of Fujian and not Taiwan, maintaining a distinctive identity from that of the Taiwanese.[9][10]

At least three competing (occasionally overlapping) paradigms are used to identify someone as a Taiwanese person: nationalist criteria, self-identification (including the concept of "New Taiwanese [zh]") criteria and socio-cultural criteria. These standards are fluid and result from evolving social and political issues. The complexity resulting from competing and evolving standards is compounded by a larger dispute regarding Taiwan's identity, the political status of Taiwan and its potential de jure Taiwan independence or Cross-Strait Unification.

According to government figures, over 95% of Taiwan's population of 23.4 million consists of Han Taiwanese, while 2.3% are Austronesian Taiwanese indigenous peoples. The Han are often divided into three subgroups: the Hoklo, the Hakka, and waishengren (or "mainlanders").[11][12] Although the concept of the "four great ethnic groups" was alleged to be the deliberate attempt by the Hoklo-dominated Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to defuse ethnic tensions, this concept has become a dominant frame of reference for dealing with Taiwanese ethnic and national issues.[13]

Despite the wide use of the "four great ethnic groups" in public discourse as essentialized identities, the relationships between the peoples of Taiwan have been in a constant state of convergence and negotiation for centuries. According to Harrel and Huang, the distinction between non-aboriginal Taiwanese groups are "no longer definitive in cultural terms".[14]

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "PLACE OF BIRTH FOR THE FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION, 2016 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". US Census. Archived from the original on 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h 2016僑務統計年報 [Statistical Yearbook of the Overseas Community Affairs Council] (PDF). Overseas Community Affairs Council. 2017-09-01. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  4. ^ 這兩大因素影響 去年赴中國工作人數創近11年新低. United Daily News. 2019-12-17. Archived from the original on 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  5. ^ "Places of Birth, 2011 National Household Survey". Statistics Canada. 2013-05-08. Archived from the original on 2016-05-13. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  6. ^ 2016年12月末在留外国人統計. Ministry of Justice, Japan. 2016-12-01. Archived from the original on 2017-05-24. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  7. ^ a b c d 2011僑務統計年報 [Statistical Yearbook of the Overseas Community Affairs Council] (PDF). Overseas Community Affairs Council. 2011-09-01. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-02-15. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-01-02. Retrieved 2017-02-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ di Genova, Trista (11 July 2007). "Study explores the 'Kinmen Identity'". China Post. Archived from the original on 4 November 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  10. ^ Wei, Jian-Feng (2006). "An Examination of Cultural Identity of Residents of Quemoy (Kinmen)" (PDF). Intercultural Communication Studies. 15 (1): 136–137. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  11. ^ Copper (2003), pp. 12–13.
  12. ^ Hsiau (2005), p. 105.
  13. ^ Makeham (2005), pp. 4–5.
  14. ^ Harrell & Huang (1994), pp. 14–15.


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