In the turmoil of change, what is the future outlook?
One of the prominent changes that have been brought on after the deaths of Chiang Kai-shek and his son is the liberty to address divisive questions concerning national identity. Uncertainty about the national identity of the island is tied to deep anxieties about the future of Taiwan. This results from a clash of nationalist visions; the Chinese nationalism manifested by the Kuomintang and its supporters, and the Taiwanese nationalism manifested by those who advocate that Taiwan be an independent state. This conflict reveals ingrained hostilities and mistrust between segments of the population. One other fundamental change has to do with attitudes people hold toward China and Taiwan. Residents of Taiwan have been impelled by changes in the political and social realms to reexamine their cultural and political identities, and as they do, many find that the simple truths to which they clung in the past are certainly not simple and may not even be true. The nub of debate is whether Taiwan
