《Reconsider the Assumptions Underlying the Debate of China＇s Rise》.pdf

152 FudanJournal0，。theHumanitiesandSocialSciences secessionfrom maimandChina” (Chp．2．P．45)．ThereforeChinaand Taiwna “willform agreaterC11iHa”which notonly embraceseconomic integrationbutalsopoliticalcontent(Chp．4，PP．91-2)．However， economi cincentive isneither a necessary nor a sufficientcondition to facliitatepoliticalintergation．W henNormanAngellpublishedhiswidely acclaimedpamphletTheGreatIllusionin 1910．thethesisthateconomic intergation in Europehad madewarbetween European powersentirely futileonlyprovedtobeagreatillusionfouryears1ater．whenallEuropean powersweredraggedintotheFirst odd r． Thisissimplybecauseeconomiccalculation isnottheonly stake whenmaking decisionsbetween warand peace．Forthetwo polities acrossthestraits，political，culturalandstrate~cfactorsremainimportant (ifnotprimary) barricades to ofster integration between them． Economictiesmayreducethechanceofmilitaryconfrontation (not necessarily)andofstermutualdependenceintheeconomi csphere，but more evidence hasyet to be produced to endorse the claim that economi ccollaborationleadstointegration．which isloosely definedin related chapters． W hile integration has started in the sphere of economy，the expectation ofrspillover into thepoliticalsphereasa “ spontaneousprogression”(45)isunsubstantiatedoptimism． Politically，Taiwanesenationalism hasbeencloselyintertwinedwith the democratization process thathas laid the ofundation ofr new Taiwaneseidentity and constructed thenew narrative ofaTaiwanese nation． Should any extemalofrce interrupt thatprocessofnation— buliding，itwould involve the sword orpoliticalmaneuvering，not economi cincentivealone．Thisprocesshasbeenfurthercomplicatedby the distinct composition of Taiwan’S population． Although ConfucianismhasbeenadominantideologyinTaiwan，themajorityof itspopulationbelongstodescendantsofSouthFujian immirgants，a specialethno--linguisticgroup ofHan Chinesewho sharetheirdistinct dialect，customsandethnicm