Abstract
This thesis attempts to address how China-made commodities become the critical banal object to the formation of contemporary Taiwanese national identity. China-made commodities as a daily case can explain how Taiwanese national identity becomes Taiwanese common sense, rather than Chinese national identity which is promoted by authoritarian government in the past. The elite-approach of nationalism research neglects the issues of mass mobilization and the mechanism of the spread of specific national identity. On the contrary, the everyday-approach suggests that national identity is articulated and reproduced through the everyday practice, such as consumption; nevertheless it may neglect the connection between mass and elites’ nationalism projects thus can not comprehend how the nation’s boundary be drawn and who are defined as “us”. I combine everyday-approach with elite-approach. That is, combine the daily formation of Taiwanese national identity with the Taiwanese nationalism historical process and the political agenda. This thesis establish three variables, including (A) everyday consumption practice. (B) vote-seeking of nationalism political camp.(C) the globalization and integration across the Taiwan Straits, to explain how China-made commodities affect Taiwanese national identity in daily level. My research argues that the governance network of China-made commodities programmed by nationalism political camp is governance of meaning process that nationalize China-made commodities. It also programs the institutions of country-of-origin labeling that defines the Taiwan and China’s national difference and map the naturalized national boundary. China-made commodities are the risks to the consumers. Through the everyday consumption practice, individual projects the specific life plan to face the risks of China-made commodities and re-writes the identity narrative which relates to Taiwanese national context. The globalization and integration across the Taiwan Straits as a essential background, crucially affect the established liminal structure of Taiwanese national identity which is structured by geo-politics.