Tracing “Taiwanization” Processes in Taiwanese Presidential Statements in Times of Cross-Strait Rapprochement

Abstract

Over the last few decades, Taiwanese society has witnessed processes of localization/Taiwanization/ de- and re-Sinicization (Sinification), all vying for legitimacy. These trends in the nation-building process are played out on the state as well as the civil society level. It can thus be useful to examine whether societal (de-)localization trends are paralleled in any ideological repositioning of official and/or media discourses after a change in ruling party. The current article investigates an important discursive site in Taiwan's public space, the presidential discourse of the new Kuomintang (KMT) (Guomindang) era, starting from the inauguration address by President Ma Ying-jeou (Ma Yingjiu) on 20 May 2008.