Chinese or Taiwanese? Which is correct?

[kyrax12]

I understand Taiwan is considered a country of origin, but what about ethnicity.

If an inquiry is made about an ethnicity, is it more correct to say Chinese or Taiwanese? Since people from Taiwan are ethnically Chinese. Some people from Taiwan are adamant that Taiwan and China are separated.

 

[Zeze]

Doesn't the word 'ethnicity' concern with physical roots?

Chinese & Taiwanese are the same physically. Taiwan wants to be on their own politically.

 

[dighn]

same appearance, language, food, customs, culture. you figure it out. some taiwanese though can't leave politics out of anything and will argue otherwise no matter.

 

[Markbnj]

Yeah I would say that one is tricky. If you were an anthropologist focused strictly on ethnicity you'd probably describe them as Chinese, or maybe something even more specific like Han. But if you were conversing with a group of people from Taiwan about their population in general, you would probably not say describe them as "Chinese people from Taiwan." I think they'd find it offensive, even if accurate. "Taiwanese" would be the safe route.

 

[Daishiki]

Yeah, it is tricky. My grandparents were born in China, but my parents and I were born in Taiwan. We consider ourselves ethnically Chinese, but we introduce ourselves as being Taiwanese.

Now, there are indigenous Taiwanese people and they do have a distinct look about them. And some others who look slightly European thanks to the Dutch. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Formosa

 

[LagunaX]

The majority of ppl on Taiwan are of Han Chinese descent and not of minority or aboriginal islander descent.

The majority of the Han Chinese on Taiwan are those that are and speak the Min Nan dialect or what is commonly known as "Taiwanese". The second largest group are those that are and speak Hakka or Kejia. Then there are those that came more recently from mainland China after WWII. And there are also Cantonese, etc. and also the aboriginal people.

It is usually those of the first group described above that prefer to be foremost "Taiwanese".

Ethnically they can be called Taiwanese but still are of course Han or "true" Chinese.

Acer, Asrock, Asus, Biostar, Gigabyte, etc. Are ethnically Taiwanese too, LOL while FoxConn is Chinese.
Hope that helps.

 

[sdifox]

Mongoloid

 

[TecHNooB]

The majority of ppl on Taiwan are of Han Chinese descent and not of minority or aboriginal islander descent.

The majority of the Han Chinese on Taiwan are those that are and speak the Min Nan dialect or what is commonly known as "Taiwanese". The second largest group are those that are and speak Hakka or Kejia. Then there are those that came more recently from mainland China after WWII. And there are also Cantonese, etc. and also the aboriginal people.

It is usually those of the first group described above that prefer to be foremost "Taiwanese".

Ethnically they can be called Taiwanese but still are of course Han or "true" Chinese.

Acer, Asrock, Asus, Biostar, Gigabyte, etc. Are ethnically Taiwanese too, LOL while FoxConn is Chinese.
Hope that helps.

now it all makes sense

 

[kyrax12]

What about Singaporeans.

Is Singapore a nationality or an ethnicity?

 

[soulcougher73]

It's taiwanese. No different than white Americans not saying they are "American of German descent" in a regular conversation. Unless specifically asked about family heritage.