Prof. Gunter Schubert
This project follows up earlier work on Taiwanese businesspeople (taishang) who have taken residence on the Chinese mainland. By making use of the concept of "linkage communities" the impact of Taiwanese businesspeople with strong commercial interests in China on Taiwanese politics and society is investigated. Two questions guide the research: 1) How do Taishang influence China policy-making in Taiwan? 2) How do Taishang influence (or even steer) the discourse on Taiwanese (national) identity and the future of cross-strait relations? Fieldwork will be undertaken in both Taiwan and the PRC, targeting Taishang on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, China policy-makers in Taiwan, and academics for qualitative interviews.
The project is sponsored by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), initially for the period 2014-2016.
