Taipei Times
Date: Aug 28, 2016
By: Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

At a seminar on the democratization of Taiwan yesterday, academics warned the government against its spontaneous response to civic groups and a plan to “co-opt” their strengths, which they said was what former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) tried to do.

At the event, several academics deliberated over the interactive relationship between civic power and national identity and made suggestions to President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration on how to deal with the demands of civic groups.

National Chengchi University sociology professor Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華) said that while younger people are now described as “naturally independence-leaning” with their active participation in social movements or activities, “we have to ask whether ‘local’ identity naturally leads to national identity.”

Ku said that Taiwanese are inclined to “suspend” talk of national status, which could leave the nation in an unstable state.     [FULL  STORY]