Taiwan Colonial Architecture Heritage On National Identity

The Influence of Taiwan Colonial Architecture Heritage On National Identity
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Abstract
Modern, multifaceted national identity constitutes economic improvement, environmental concern, social welfare, and civil awareness. There has been a debate on what constitutes historical heritage and the aspects of post-colonial heritage preserved. Taiwan is among countries that were initially colonized by Japan and yet experienced difficulties in eradicating or upholding the political and cultural aspects of its colonial masters. Taiwan's people experienced a conflict of interest while using either colonial and post-colonial modernism to establish their national identity. Architectural styles in both eras illustrate the people's perspectives about their national identity during and after the colonial period. The essay explores architectural styles in different periods in Taiwan's history and their influence on national identity formation and sustenance.
The Influence of Taiwan Colonial Architecture Heritage On National Identity
The island of Taiwan is among the islands lying along the Asian continent in the Pacific Ocean. Austronesian indigenous people originally inhabited the island, but it became a Chinese immigrant frontier in the 17th century. Historically, Taiwan has had different regimes, including the Dutch (1624-61), the Koxinga (1662-83), the Qing (1684-1894), the Japanese empire (1895-1945), and the Chinese Nationalist regime. The Japanese colonial regimen and the Chinese Nationalist regime are the most significant regime evolution cycles witnessed in Taiwan in the 20th century (Chu & Lin, 2001). Consecutively, each of the two regimes dominated its political history for almost half a century by using an authoritarian rule to overcome the challenge of subordinating the native society. They experienced a strong societal resistance. They tried to suppress the indigenous cultural identity and impose a cultural unity between the ruler and the ruled through state-sponsored cultural programs. Although the two regimes had initially assumed high autonomy and insulation from the native society, the state elite's interests eventually entangled with those of the natives (Chang, 2014). The native elite turned out to be the indispensable intermediary for effective social control. Both the Japanese colonial rulers and the Nationalist regime effectively organized popular compliance and allegiance, controlling, and mobilizing society. A similar political prowess in regulating political participation, elite recruitment, and access to the policy-making process was exhibited. Taiwanese colonial heritage affected the development, state, and direction of the county's national identities.
Japan began its modernization process in the mid-19th century. The first Sino-Japanese war occurred in April 1895 where the Qing Dynasty was defeated and signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The treaty ceded Taiwan to the Japanese regime, which ruled the island from 1895 to 1945, until the 2nd World War. During the fifty-years of Japanese ruling, Taiwan witnessed immense modernization and industrialization (Wang, 2012). Japan surrendered as the colonial administrators of Taiwan after World War II paved the way for the C...