Time Matters in Cross-Strait Relations: Tsai Ing-wen and Taiwan’s Future

Sullivan, Jonathan

Abstract

In this article, I examine the ROC president's discursive response to PRC efforts to limit Taiwan's future possibilities and undermine confidence in Taiwan's future. I argue that the capacity to imagine the future, and perceiving agency to affect future outcomes, is crucial for national resilience. Since Taiwan is routinely exposed to factors known to cause reduced self-efficacy and morale – uncertainty, threat, marginalization, restricted agency, circumscribed action repertoires – it is crucial that Taiwanese people have a meaningful sense of “what are we striving for?” and confidence that they have the agency to realize these aspirations. The article sets out an empirical examination of discursive constructions of the future as a vector for enhancing cohesion and resolve in Taiwanese society. Foregrounding a novel dimension in the study of Taiwan, the article contributes both an interpretivist account of President Tsai Ing-wen's discourse and opens a new avenue for research on the largely neglected issue of futurity in cross-Strait relations.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 31, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Feb 16, 2024
• Deposit Date: Sep 1, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 1, 2023
• Journal: China Quarterly
• Print ISSN: 0305-7410
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-2648
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0305741023001649
• Keywords: Discourse; the future; cognitive warfare; resilience; Tsai Ing-wen; Taiwan
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/24869066
• Additional Information: Copyright: Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of SOAS University of London; License: This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.; Free to read: This content has been made available to all.