Engineers and the Two Taiwans

The identity of Taiwan is a matter of intense local and international debate. This book shows how engineers helped produce two distinct visions of the land of Taiwan and its people, elevating the value of engineering as a career path in the process.

The technical work of engineers that typically avoids partisan politics can actually contribute to partisan differences and conflict because engineers have different identities, commitments, and forms of knowledge. In most countries, the rise of engineering is about the emergence of a single dominant vision of the country. In Taiwan, two distinct visions of the land and its people emerged, owing to the presence of two distinct geographical identities--islander and mainlander.

The unique collaboration among small and large companies in the electronics industry proved to be transformative, producing an "abnormal club" of mainlander and islander engineers, as one mixed group had earlier called itself. However, because the two collections of engineers had contrasting geographical identities, their work in electronics actually aimed to produce different Taiwans.