One China, Many Taiwans: The Geopolitics of Cross-Strait Tourism

One China, Many Taiwans explores how tourism performs and transforms territory, highlighting the tensions between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan. Tourism aggravated tensions, polarized Taiwanese society, and pushed Taiwanese popular sentiment toward support for national self-determination, performing Taiwan as a part of China for Chinese group tourists and as a place of everyday life. Ian Rowen's treatment of tourism as a political technology provides a new theoretical lens for social scientists to examine its impacts.

Format: Hardback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 15 January 2023
Publisher: Cornell University Press

One China, Many Taiwans explores the intricate interplay between tourism and territorial transformation. In 2008, when the People's Republic of China launched a thousand missiles across the Taiwan Strait, it inadvertently sent millions of tourists in the same direction, with the encouragement of Taiwan's politicians and businesspeople. Contrary to the PRC's efforts to use tourism to incorporate Taiwan into an imaginary One China, tourism exacerbated tensions between the two polities, polarized Taiwanese society, and pushed Taiwanese popular sentiment farther toward support for national self-determination. As a result, Taiwan was perceived by Chinese group tourists as a part of China, while experienced by the Taiwanese as a place of everyday life. Taiwan's national identity grew increasingly plural, with many Taiwans coexisting, even as it faced an existential military threat.

Ian Rowen's treatment of tourism as a political technology offers a novel theoretical lens for social scientists to examine the impacts of tourism in the region and beyond. Tourism has the power to shape perceptions, influence social interactions, and shape the political landscape. By studying the effects of tourism, social scientists can gain insights into the complex dynamics of power, identity, and culture in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

In conclusion, One China, Many Taiwans highlights the complex and multifaceted relationship between tourism and territorial transformation. Tourism has the potential to promote understanding and cooperation, but it can also exacerbate tensions and undermine national identities. By examining the impacts of tourism through the lens of political technology, social scientists can gain a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics that shape the region and the world.

Weight: 448g
Dimension: 158 x 235 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501766930