Taipei, May 19 (CNA) There is no denying that Taiwan has a national identity problem, and the problem is not a vague or tiring issue in the 2008 presidential election, academia said in a forum Saturday.
"The national identity problem is not vague. It's real in everyday life. It's involved in almost every facet of our national policy -- economy, trade, investment, and national defense, to name a few, " said Michael Hsiao, executive director of Academia Sinica's Center for Asia Pacific Area Studies.
Hsiao presented his argument while answering a question by a foreign representative in a seasonal forum titled "Presidential Election and Domestic Politics, " which was organized by Taiwan Thinktank to provide foreign representatives with timely interpretations of Taiwan's politics.
The representative, one of more than a dozen foreign representatives who attended the forum, wondered whether people of Taiwan want to see a more concrete and practical platform from the presidential candidates and parties because the issue has been brought up time and time again in past elections.
"The problem of identity is not identity alone, it includes everything, " Hsiao concluded.
"Sometimes, it may look like national identity is the only issue in Taiwan's election campaign. It is, however, the unique situation Taiwan has been in, " said David Huang, an associate research fellow at Academia Sinica who once served as vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).
The reason why national identity has been the primary focus in Taiwan's elections is partly due to the fact that the campaign agenda was set up by politicians and the media, and not the voters, Huang said.
"Whenever China said something or the Taiwan government did something, it hit the front pages of newspapers the next day, " he added.
Voters look for "information shortcuts" to compare candidates' agendas with their own, while political parties and candidates try to mobilize voters with simple and clear "symbols, " making national identity "one of the most efficient catalysts in any election," Huang said.
More than 15 foreign representatives in Taiwan attended the two-hour forum.