Since its appearance in the early 1990s, the issue of national identity, or the debate over Taiwan independence versus unification with China, has divided the Taiwanese people. Through the analysis of data from the 1995 Taiwan Social Change Survey, the present study assessed the role of the Taiwanese mass media in the process of national identity. Discriminant analysis was utilized to examine the characteristics which distinguish among four national identity groups: Taiwanese nationalists, Chinese nationalists, pragmatists, and conservatives. The present study found that the differences between the Chinese nationalists and Taiwanese nationalists are based largely on their ethnic origins, their attitudes toward ethnic identity, and their party support. The findings suggest that in Taiwan the issue of national identity is closely associated with the issue of ethnicity, which has to do with Taiwanese history since 1945. Regarding the role of mass media, the present study found in the analysis of media use, Chinese nationalists were more likely than conservatives to read newspapers and magazines frequently, and to watch TV news daily. In the overall model, Taiwanese nationalists were heavier print media users than were conservatives. Pragmatists had more exposure to newspapers than did conservatives. Taiwanese mass media in 1995 made a moderate impact on the Taiwanese people's attitudes toward national identity. However, the limitations of the data suggest that a more elaborate study of national identity and media, under the guidance of specific media theories, is necessary.
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