Competition And Symbiosis:Ethnic Relations Of Taiwan Indigenous People After Taiwan's Recovery

In the multi-ethnic area,ethnic relations is an important topic.The social stability has a lot to do with how compatible different ethnic groups are.Ren'ai township,Nantou country in Taiwan is a multi-ethnic area,Tayal,Seediq and Bunun are the major indigenous people in this area.These three ethnic groups have diverse cultures,and each of them can be divided into different subgroups,so the ethnic relations among Tayal,Seediq and Bunun are complex.Since 1945,under the influence of the new policy and new environment,the ethnic relations of Taiwan indigenous people have become more complex and diverse.From the perspective of culture,firstly,different languages coexist in Ren'ai township.Although diverse languages hinder cultural contacts,the acquisition and usage of Chinese language closely ties the different ethnic groups together.Secondly,Christianity displaced traditional religion and be the spiritual strength of different ethnic groups,although the believers of different sects compete over different doctrines,which lead to ethnic differentiation,the construction and strengthening of religious identity helps to heal historical contradiction and to promote ethnic integration.Finally,With the frequent contact among different ethnic groups,inter-ethnic marriage is becoming increasingly common.The realization of inter-ethnic marriage is helpful for the improvement of the ethnic relations.From the perspective of economy,the market economy have gradually replaced traditional self-sufficient economy,linking the individual and groups in the society.Under the market economy,competing interests and economic disputes between individuals or ethnic groups are inevitable.However,as the economic exchanges and cooperation among different ethnic groups have become more frequent,the ethnic relations become closer.From the perspective of political,traditional egalitarian social and political structures are disintegrating,while the establishment of the modern administrative system and the development of the electoral system make power game among Taiwan indigenous people becomes fierce.Most of the governance subjects' division of power and responsibility are clear,so they have a very close relationship and work well together;a small number of the governance subjects restrain each other because of the conflicts of roles,resources competition or disagreements.In political elections,when people's support tends to converge,the network of interpersonal relationships associated with candidates can become effectively mobilized,as a result,the interests of certain groups are realized.However,the unfair competition of power and the unfair distribution of resources lead to ethnic divisions and political stratification.From the perspective of the ethnic consciousness,the sense of pan-ethnic identity constructed by Taiwan indigenous people in the social movement is questioned and challenged,resulting in the rise of the individual ethnic and multiple identity.Although the multiple identity helps to promote mutual understanding and tolerance between groups,the excessive expansion of the individual ethnic leads to a severe crisis of ethnic division.This study show that the Taiwan indigenous people in Ren'ai township have been engaged in frequent interactions in various fields including cultural,economic,politics and consciousness from 1945,and formed two different ethnic relations models:competitive conflict and harmonious symbiosis.There is a tension between the two models of relationship.The pendulous characteristics of the tension make the local social order swing between ordered and disordered,stable and restless,resulting in the presentation of a dynamic ethnic relationship.For now,disputes and contradictions exist among the ethnic groups,but these are only partial,periodical and reconcilable,harmonious symbiosis is the mainstream of Taiwan indigenous people's ethnic relations.By the standards of "Symbiosis theory",this kind of symbiosis is in the lower stage,and the integration of symbiosis should be the advanced stage.Due to the spread of individual identity,Taiwan indigenous people are facing the challenge of ethnic differentiation,which seriously impedes the formation of integrated symbiosis."The Pattern of Pluralistic Unity of the Chinese Nation"is the embodiment of the integrated symbiosis.As Taiwan indigenous people look forward to the future,they should try to realize "The Pattern of Pluralistic Unity",and attach importance to the integration and unification of ethnic groups,while avoiding the intensification of ethnic differentiation.