Community, State, Globalization and National Identity: Testing Relevant Hypotheses in Taiwan and Hong Kong

The basic approach of this proposed project is first to build a hypothetical model encompassing several most relevant independent variables such as the SES of the residents community participations, political participation, international travel, and personal assessment of development prospect on the one hand and the dependent variable such as community identity, state identity, and cultural, ethnic identity on the other.

Concurrent opinion surveys will be conducted both in Taiwan and Hong Kong to test various hypotheses derived from the relationships among these variables. The primary hypothesis of this research project is: owing to the increasing community participation and international travels of both the residents in Taiwan and Hong Kong, “community identity” and “cultural/ethnic identity” will be strengthen whereas “state identity” will gradually subside.

The applicant of this project has received strict training both in traditional political science and in empirical methods of modern political inquiry. In recent years, with the support from the National Science Council, this applicant has been able to conduct various relevant researches on the concepts of “multi-system nations,” “linkage communities,” and “intra-national commonwealth,” all are original concepts put forth by this applicant.

It is the firm belief of the applicant that by conducting the proposed research, we not only can gain first hand knowledge on the problem of national identity of the people in Taiwan and Hong Kong, but will also add a new theoretical thrust to the investigation on the problem of the role of states and communities caught in the process of globalization.