Anti-Taiwanese sentiment

People's Republic of China

Summarize

Perspective

In the 21st century, anti-Taiwan Jingoism has emerged rapidly in the People's Republic of China, particularly on the Chinese internet.^[1] The Chinese government has at times denied that anti-Taiwanese sentiment is present in mainland China, insisting that residents are only opposed to Taiwanese independence. In 2016, the Taiwan Affairs Office declared that "there is no anti-Taiwanese sentiment among the people in mainland China, only anti–Taiwan independence".^[2] However, scholars have pointed to examples of Chinese netizens attacking Taiwanese people and culture to argue that anti-Taiwanese sentiment is a growing trend on the Chinese internet.^[3]^[4] The China Times published an editorial in 2016 arguing that "anti-China" sentiment had long been present in Taiwan and that "anti–Taiwan independence" sentiment had long been present in China, but that "anti-Taiwan" sentiment in Chinese civil society was a new and growing phenomenon.^[5] In 2018, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office blamed Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party for "triggering the emotions" of mainland netizens while insisting that anti-Taiwanese sentiment was not representative of China's stance.^[6]

Chinese authorities have also attempted to discourage anti-Taiwan rhetoric. Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, declared in 2021 that mainland netizens should "fight against Taiwanese independence" but not against Taiwan.^[7] During a coordinated campaign in 2016 by Chinese internet users to leave anti-independence messages on the Facebook page of newly elected president Tsai Ing-wen, organizers unsuccessfully insisted that participants should only attack the idea of Taiwanese independence rather than Taiwanese people or culture.^[4]^{[page needed]}

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Relationship with anti-Chinese sentiment

Anti-Taiwanese sentiment is sometimes motivated by anti-Chinese sentiment because of the existence of a perception that Taiwanese is ethnically close to Chinese;^[8] during the 2014 Vietnam anti-China protests, anti-Taiwanese sentiment emerged as an extension of anti-Chinese sentiment.^[9] In contrast, politically pro-China attitudes sometimes lead to anti-Taiwan, because China (PRC) regards Taiwan as its territory under the One China principle and does not consider it an independent country, and diplomatically Taiwan is at odds with China.^[10]

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Derogatory terms

In Chinese

Spiritually Japanese (Chinese: 精神日本人) – ethnic slur used by anti-Japanese mainland Chinese to demean Taiwanese who are more friendly to Japan.
Taibazi (Chinese: 台巴子) – the term used by mainland Chinese or non-Taiwanese individuals to refer to Taiwanese people, meaning "rural bumpkin from Taiwan." Taibazi became a specific term, originating from Shanghai vendors and later widely circulating throughout the Chinese-speaking region.

In Japanese

Chankoro – derogatory term originating from a corruption of the Taiwanese Hokkien pronunciation of 清國奴 Chheng-kok-lô͘, used to refer to any "Chinaman", with a meaning of "Qing dynasty's slave".^{[note 1]}
Sangokujin (三国人) – antiquated term meaning "people from third countries", referring to ethnic Korean/Taiwanese (former colonial subjects) people in Japan. Considered by some to now be a slur.

In Korean

Jjangkkae^[ko] (Korean: 짱깨) or Seomjjangkkae (Korean: 섬짱깨) – the Korean pronunciation of 掌櫃 (zhǎngguì), literally "shopkeeper", originally referring to owners of Chinese restaurants and stores;^[12] derogatory term referring to Chinese people. Seom (섬) means "island [of Taiwan]."^[13]

Notes

[1]
Chankoro was often used when the Japanese people disparaged the Taiwanese people during the Taiwan under Japanese rule before 1945.^[11] Since today's Japanese people perceive Taiwanese people and mainland Chinese people as individual nations, they rarely refer to them as chankoro when disparaging Taiwanese people.