2. Taiwan: History, Politics, and Culture

To begin, let me turn to Taiwan’s history. Admittedly, before the 1600s, not much is known about this nation. It is known that people have lived here for 20,000–30,000 years, and bone fragments and various artifacts have been unearthed and can be seen in museums in Taiwan. In spite of such archeological finds, however, not a lot is known in terms of Taiwan’s early history. There is, however, one fascinating probability that is being examined by scientists, linguists, and anthropologists. This is the “out of Taiwan” thesis, which indicates that the ancestries and disbursement of nations and empires in the Austronesian area may have originated with the odysseys of peoples from Taiwan. Evidence has shown that “Pacific populations originated in Taiwan around 5200 years ago,” and migration from Taiwan “played a major role in the spread of people throughout the world” (Science Daily, Jan. 27, 2009). This possible source of Austronesian peoples and their great civilizations is compelling and is probably at least in part true (although the possibility that Austronesia was founded by peoples from China or other Asian nations is also a probable likelihood). This theory was originated by linguist Robert Blust (currently professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa) and later voiced from an archaeological perspective by Professor Peter Bellwood (emeritus professor of archaeology at the School of Archaeology and Anthropology of the Australian National University). I find this theory fascinating, in that it indicates how the Taiwanese are a diasporic people, settling far and wide, inhabiting new regions and founding new nations and even empires (Fig. 2.1). This can also be seen in recent Taiwanese history, with Taiwanese settling in and creating new communities in many areas around the world (part of the “Chinese diaspora”). With this idea in mind, I would like to introduce the first of my published works, “Taiwanese settling far and wide: A global view,” published in the Taipei Times on February 5, 2018. I view this actuality from the standpoint of Taiwanese identity, mindfulness, and consciousness and even call the modern movements of Taiwanese peoples my own “out of Taiwan” thesis. Much of this examination looks at how “diaspora is a powerful challenge to the hegemony and boundedness of the nation-state and any pure imaginary of nationhood” (Wang, 28), suggesting how leaving and breaking out of one’s “bounds” relieves feelings of “boundedness.” If all of this is true, we may see that Taiwan has contributed to the modern world in important developmental ways.