Unit 2 final

 I was born in Taiwan, and I never thought I would leave that place. My experience of relocating from Taiwan to Beijing, due to my parents' job, highlights a significant moment of tension in my life. In Taiwan, the culture served as a powerful lens through which to examine different values, beliefs, languages, and ways of life. 

Moving to Beijing made me realize that I was unfamiliar with my own identity, primarily due to the tension between Taiwan and China. I needed to adapt to the new environment and the cultural changes associated with living in Beijing. My journey began when my parents moved to Beijing for their jobs. Beijing is a city with a rich history and culture. I will talk about my journey of moving to Beijing and explore some moments of tension that I faced during my time there. 

This move was unexpected and came as a surprise. At the age of five, I was enjoying my life in Taiwan, attending kindergarten and making new friends. Then, one day, my parents informed me about the opportunity for them to work in Beijing, which was one of the most surprising events in my life. The first few weeks of living in Beijing were challenging because I was enrolled in an international school, where the primary language they used was English. At that time, I didn't know any English, making school an experience that I detested. It was challenging to understand what the teacher was saying, and interacting with my classmates was equally challenging. 

During this period, I truly wished to return to Taiwan, as I was not enjoying myself as I had in Taiwan. This phase of my life was one of the most difficult, and I felt uncertain about what to do. After attending multiple English tutoring and writing classes, my English abilities started to improve, and I began to adapt to the international school environment as well. As I got more and more used to the new environment, I started to feel like I belonged to the community, something that I had not felt in a long time. However, that doesn't mean that I was fully aware of my own identity and culture. 

As I began 2nd grade, my parents encouraged me to take up a sport for both social interaction and health benefits. In my school, the available sports were soccer, swimming, and badminton. Since I had only played basketball in Taiwan, I decided to explore and start a new sport. I started playing soccer, a sport I had never watched or played before. The reason behind this choice was that all of my friends had joined the soccer team, and I believed that playing a sport with my friends would make the experience more enjoyable and fulfilling. During this time, I approached my parents about discontinuing basketball, as I was more interested in soccer. However, they were reluctant to let go of basketball. The tension between my desire to play soccer and my reluctance to disappoint my parents by quitting basketball created a unique internal conflict. This was a feeling that I had not experienced before, and it was somewhat complex. As I expressed my passion for soccer, they began to understand that I was serious about the sport, and their initial reluctance turned into support. Their only wish for me was to enjoy myself. 

When I moved from Taiwan to Beijing, I experienced a small sense of tension as I adjusted to a new environment, learned new things, and explored different sports. The most significant lesson I gained was a deeper understanding of the ongoing tension between Taiwan and China. The central question, 'Is Taiwan a part of China?' is a subject that many people talked about. To understand the conflict, one must know the history of the Chinese Civil War, which took place from “1927 to 1950”. “The war concluded with the Nationalist forces of the Republic of China (ROC) retreating to Taiwan, while the Communist forces of the People's Republic of China (PRC) established their government on the mainland. Both governments claimed to be the legitimate rulers of China.”

The Taiwan Strait, or Cross-Strait tension, has been a long-standing. The primary point of conflict revolves around the People's Republic of China stating that Taiwan is a province of China, while “Taiwan considers itself an independent with its own government, military, and constitution.” Despite Taiwan having its own government and military, China has not ruled out the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control and has significantly modernized its military capabilities, including its missile force. In response to this, the “Taiwan government has recently extended the military appointment duration from four months to a year for individuals born after 2005, in an effort to boost its military strength in the event of a crisis”. China's approach has not been limited to military means; they have also “severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan and attempted to isolate Taiwan diplomatically.” Nevertheless, some countries around the world still maintain strong unofficial ties with Taiwan, as they seek ways to exert influence in the region. 

The tension between China and Taiwan left me feeling confused about my own identity and cultural background. I was too young to understand the conflict between China and Taiwan when I first arrived in Beijing, China. To the point that I almost believed that I was from China, largely due to the various influences that had shaped my perspective. One such influence that stands out is the way locals in China often ask about my origin based on my accent. The accents between Taiwan and China have notable differences, and it's easy for locals to tell if you're not from here. When they asked about our accent, I felt proud to identify as Taiwanese, the country where I was born. However, during Winter or Summer breaks when I returned from Beijing to Taiwan, the same question arose, but now they asked if we were from China. Living in China had influenced our accents to the point that they assumed we were Chinese. This experience left me in a state of confusion regarding my own identity, as I struggled to determine which community I truly belonged to.  This continued for a few years, up until the 5th grade when my parents began discussing the possibility of moving back to Taiwan. It was during this time that we started to explore and learn more about our identity and culture. At my former school, Western Academy of Beijing, there was an annual event called 'Flag Day.' During this event, the eldest student from each country had the opportunity to go on stage and proudly wave the flag representing their nationality. As I held dual citizenship and no one else at the school was from Taiwan, my sister and I were given the chance to wave the Taiwan flag together. It was an experience I had never done before. However, because we were in China, we were not allowed to use the official flag of Taiwan; instead, we used the Olympic flag. This sparked my curiosity, and I asked my parents why we couldn't use the actual flag. My mom explained the reason, and that was the point at which I began to grasp the significance of my ancestral background and culture. 

At the start of the 6th grade, my dad wanted us to move back to Taiwan, because my dad wanted us to have a better relationship with our cousins and grandparents. I had become really close to my friends and teachers, and I didn't want to leave a place that I had grown so familiar with. Starting middle school at Taipei American School, I encountered a completely different atmosphere. Unlike my previous Western school, which was filled with Europeans and Americans with few Asians, my first day at Taipei American School was a shock. Not only did I not see any white people, but everyone in my class held dual citizenship and were Taiwanese. Initially, I was quite shocked as I hadn't expected the classroom to be so different. During the first few weeks of attending Taipei American School, I didn't enjoy it at all, as I was still holding onto memories of my old school. However, with time, I began to accept that I wouldn't be going back to Beijing, and this was going to be my new school. Some of the reasons why I wanted to go back is because of my accent when I speak Chinese, some people assume that I am from the mainland (China). Sometimes, I respond to those who make this assumption because I truly believe I am from Taiwan. However, when many people consistently make the same claims about you, it can be distressing and take me back to my initial experiences in China, where I felt unwelcome and isolated. This made me want to go back to Beijing even more. 

After a few years of speaking to them in Chinese, my accent became less obvious, and people stopped making remarks about me and China. As they stopped making these claims, I started to embrace my own identity and culture in a way I had never done before. This was a very important time in my life. I went from feeling unwelcome and isolated in Taiwan to the point where I now feel like I belong in this community. This transformation was unexpected and took me by surprise.

While living in Taiwan and continually learning about identity and culture, I gradually came to fully accept the truth that I am Taiwanese. Despite spending my early days in China, I firmly believe that Taiwan is its own country and is separate from China as an independent country. Attending Mandarin classes at school and studying the history of Taiwan further deepened my understanding of the situation and the reasons behind the ongoing conflict between China and Taiwan. 

As I grew older and faced the prospect of military service, I began researching different locations, health checks, and the timing for my military appointment. I was born in 2004, and the military appointment duration was initially set at 4 months. However, due to the tensions between Taiwan and China, they made the decision to change it. People born after 2005 would now have to serve in the army for an entire year, a measure in anticipation of potential conflict with China. This policy change led many of my younger friends to consider relocating to the U.S. in order to avoid mandatory military service. They believed that living in the U.S. would be safer and more stable compared to Taiwan, given the uncertainty surrounding the relationship between China and Taiwan. 

From the start, not knowing anything about the tension between China and Taiwan and being confused about my own identity, I eventually came to believe and take pride in being Taiwanese. This was something I considered extremely important at that stage of my life. Gaining awareness of my hereditary context at such an early age is something I view as highly significant. The tension between China and Taiwan remains an ongoing conflict, and I don't think it will end anytime soon. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the reasons behind this tension and seek ways to try and address it.

Source:

WuHuiZhong, 2022, Taiwan extends compulsory military service to 1 year. Apnews, Taiwan extends compulsory military service to 1 year | AP News

Marizland, Lindsay. 2023, Why China-Tiawan relations are so tense. Coucil on. Foreign relations. Why China-Taiwan Relations Are So Tense | Council on Foreign Relations (cfr.org)

Reflection:

When I first considered what to write about for this assignment, I had no idea where to begin. However, as I thought more and more, I realized that writing about the conflict between China and Taiwan is an important topic that has greatly influenced my life. I've learned a lot about this subject over the years. I spent my early years living in China and later moved to Taiwan during middle school, which exposed me to the ongoing tension between these two countries. To this day, the tension continues to grow. Learning about this conflict has not only deepened my knowledge but also provided insights into my own identity. I feel like one thing that may help improve this essay is to have more personal examples, I already had a few but I feel like adding more will be better.