Honoring Our Narratives, Part 2
The Impact of History on Taiwanese Americans’ Understanding of Themselves
By Evangeline Hsieh, a Doctoral Candidate at Widener University’s Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology.
This article is adapted from the author’s doctoral dissertation. It reflects revised and condensed arguments developed in the course of that research.
In my first article, I described the impact of religion on first- and second-generation Asian Americans as they settle in the United States. Christianity specifically seems to play a role in helping Asian Americans acculturate and assimilate into American culture, but it can also raise tensions between the generations as well as how we understand ourselves. Thus, in order to diffuse the tensions and help each of us gain a better understanding of the world, ourselves, and our relationship with God, it is important to consider the impact of migration, racialization, culture, and history.
For me, the history that was missing from my understanding of my heritage was that of Taiwan. Growing up in the United States, my connection to my Taiwanese heritage has been mostly with the language, food, and landscapes of the island. I loved (and still love) being trilingual and eating Taiwanese beef noodle soup. I grew up in a Taiwanese American church, listening to sermons in Taiwanese and often hearing about Taiwanese politics from the older congregants there. As a child, this felt normal; after all, it was all I knew. However, when I began going to a predominantly white church near the end of my elementary school years, my mindset about the role of my Taiwanese heritage and politics generally began to change. I also began to wonder more about the tensions between the Taiwanese benshengren (or local Taiwanese) and the waishengren (or Mainlanders). Why did the benshengren hold such animosity towards the waishengren? Were there any waishengren in our church? Why aren’t there any? Aren’t we all children of God and should we not be welcoming to one another? All of the answers to these questions that I was able to get from conversations with my family seemed to be incredibly blurry. It wasn’t until I took the time to learn about Taiwanese history that all of these answers got a bit clearer.
Taiwan has been colonized since the early 1600s, first by Europeans such as the Portuguese, who named the island Ilha Formosa, or beautiful island.1 The Europeans were driven out by the Ming Dynasty. Eventually, the Qing Dynasty ceded Taiwan to Imperial Japan in 1895.2
The Japanese had arguably some of the greatest influence on Taiwanese identity. During Japanese colonization, the Taiwanese were ruled under an assimilation policy, which enforced the use of Japanese language and punished the use of the indigenous, Hoklo, and Hakka languages.3 It also introduced Japanese laws and institutions into Taiwan with the goal of making the Taiwanese people citizens of Imperial Japan.4 These assimilation policies were culturally destructive, and resistance often led to punitive measures that included imprisonment and death.5 The Taiwanese seemed to have found a way to live relatively peaceful and successful lives, as long as they embraced Japanese culture, values, and thinking. This method of survival in Imperial Japan influences Taiwanese culture even today.
After World War II, Japan surrendered Taiwan to the Chiang Kai-Shek and the Kuomintang (KMT)-led Republic of China in 1945. Chiang and the KMT fled to Taiwan in 1949 while fighting against the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the Chinese Civil War.6 The KMT, much like the Japanese, enforced many ideologies and institutions of assimilation upon the Taiwanese. While the Japanese allowed the Taiwanese some power in education and government, the KMT did not, keeping them from jobs in both the central and local governments. The Taiwanese very quickly became discontent and were quick to mobilize and protest, leading to the deaths of thousands of Taiwanese and eventually to the 228 Massacre. Ultimately, martial law was enacted and an era known as White Terror where the Taiwanese who were perceived as threats were suppressed, murdered, and imprisoned.7 During this time, the Taiwanese people lived in immense fear.
By the 80s, Chiang Ching-Kuo, Chiang Kai-Shek’s son and successor, began to change his policies, allowing the lcoal Taiwanese to participate in politics and form an opposition party (The Democratic Progressive Party - DPP).8 In 1987, he lifted martial law.9 Since this time, Taiwan has elected a president and peacefully transitioned power four times. With this in mind, Beijing and the PRC has proclaimed the Taiwanese government to be illegitimate because Taiwan rejected the “one country, two systems” option back in 1991.10 To this day, there is quite a bit of tension between Taiwan and the PRC.
With the end of dictatorship and colonization, Taiwanization, or the formation of Taiwanese identity, has thrived. More and more Taiwanese have seen themselves to be separate from China. The DPP has favored Taiwanese independence since its inception while the KMT has favored reunification with China. This difference in ideology has created tension and colored Taiwanese elections, policies, and voting patterns.
However, this history does not just influence current politics; it also greatly influences the Taiwanese’s understanding of their identity and the relationships that are formed through these identities. To illustrate, the KMT’s reign over the island seems to have the most palpable influence on the social dynamics within Taiwan. Because of the association of waishengren with the KMT, many benshengren are wary and distrustful of them. The KMT and waishengren, for the benshengren, represent a terrifying period and a people who were relentlessly cruel in their treatment of the Taiwanese.
On the other hand, many waishengren arrived in Taiwan because of the Chinese Civil War. They came with the expectation that the KMT would be able to take back China from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP); in fact, Chiang Kai-Shek repeatedly made this promise to them.11 With the mindset that Taiwan would just be a temporary home, many of these civil war migrants seemed to cope with being away from home by distancing themselves from the local people and cultures of Taiwan.12 Additionally, the benshengren culture, heavily influenced by Japanese culture, remind the waishengren of the trauma and fear they experienced during the First and Second Sino-Japanese Wars, thus making it incredibly difficult to relate and live as equals with them.
For some Taiwanese Americans, the knowledge and experience of this tension is unknown, making it hard for many of them to understand why their parents, family members, and/or community behave and think in certain ways. Second-generation Taiwanese Americans may not understand why there is such animosity between the benshengren and the waishengren and why it shows up even in the Taiwanese American church. They also may not understand why there is such an emphasis on politics in the church as well, leaving them to feel as if their parents’ or grandparents’ faiths are not as “strong” or may not consider them to be “good Christians.”
However, one of the most interesting things about Taiwan’s history is the involvement of the Christian church in its formation. While European missionaries brought Christianity to Taiwan, the Taiwanese quickly learned to run their own churches.13 These churches, particularly the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan (PCT), became incredibly involved in advocacy for the Taiwanese people.14 When the 228 Massacre happened, many PCT pastors and churches were executed by the KMT for their involvement.15 Thus, the 228 Massacre not only had a large influence on the Taiwanese people’s identity, but also in the PCT’s identity and beliefs as well. Their faith and values would lead them to become the defender of Christianity in Taiwan and of the Taiwanese people.
To this day, the PCT continues to play a role in politics, many participating in the DPP while also extending their work into victimized populations and communities in Taiwan. While the PCT’s involvement in democratization and Taiwanization has helped benshengren and the indigenous peoples, the PCT is not considered a welcoming or safe place for many waishengren.16 Politics and pro-independence thinking continues in PCT churches today and even extends to Taiwanese churches in the United States. In the same way, the animosities between benshengren and waishengren are still palpable in Taiwanese American churches today.
This is a brief recounting of Taiwanese history, but it is through learning about this history that I have gained a better understanding of Taiwan, of the church in Taiwan, and why politics play such a huge role in the Taiwanese church.
I have also realized that the tragedy of Taiwan’s ethnic identities is not just in their histories, but the fact that neither group seems to be able to understand each other’s histories and experiences.
It seems that the Taiwanese people, no matter where they are in the world, are struggling with finding a sense of ethnic identity, especially after centuries of colonization and fear and a currently uncertain future.
As second- and third-generation Taiwanese Americans, what we know about these tensions seem to come from stories and sentiments expressed by our elders. This was certainly my experience. However, learning about these stories through research for my dissertation allowed me to have more compassion towards both the waishengren and benshengren. It made me wonder whether healing and reconciliation can happen between them. I don’t suggest that the hurt and pain experienced by both sides should be put aside; all of those experiences are real and valid.
But would having curiosity, listening to, and understanding these stories help us and our congregants understand how it impacts our relationship with God and lead each other to closer relationship with Him?
As faith leaders serving Taiwanese American congregants, it is important to understand that history and politics play a significant role in how these congregants view the world and themselves. Having an idea of why there is so much tension between the waishengren and benshengren may expand your understanding of the relationship dynamics in your congregations. Additionally, it may foster more empathy and compassion towards those in your congregations and bring more folks to the church. In the Taiwanese American church I grew up in, I have seen empathy and compassion bring more people to the church. It has allowed for the church to shift from conducting services solely in Taiwanese to having them in Mandarin and sometimes English. It seems to have brought more people in, allowing them to develop their relationship with Christ. I do not believe that the tensions were completely alleviated; however, the willingness to understand their stories and extend empathy has allowed more people to experience the love of God.
This does not apply solely to Taiwanese history; each country has a complicated history that greatly impacts the relationships within the country as well as the relationships they have with others. It will likely impact how they relate to God and how they seek Him. So as faith leaders serving people with diverse histories and experiences, I ask that you extend curiosity and compassion towards the stories that you hear in your congregations. May this curiosity and compassion honor the narratives of ourselves and our fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
Evangeline Hsieh is a Doctoral Candidate at Widener University’s Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology. Evangeline earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychological Sciences from William & Mary and her Masters in Clinical Psychology from Widener. Evangeline has always been fascinated with stories and the various factors that play a role in the stories we live out and how that impacts our relationship with Christ. Throughout her clinical training, Evangeline has been working to understand and help others understand their stories therapeutically, primarily working with children, adolescents, and families to treat a variety of psychological disorders. She is currently working to obtain her certification in School Psychology in Pennsylvania.
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