Ethnicity, Empowerment, and Political Trust: The 2005 Local Elections in Taiwan

Abstract

Ethnicity has long been a politically sensitive issue in Taiwan, especially the cleavage between the majority Taiwanese and the minority mainlanders. However, how does ethnicity affect political attitudes? Using data from the 2005 local elections survey, this study examines Taiwanese-mainlander differences in political trust in county/city government. It is hypothesized that increases in mainlander empowerment would affect the level of political trust among mainlanders and change the nature of Taiwanese-mainlander differences in governmental trust. The findings reveal that empowerment, as indicated by control of the magistrate/mayor`s office, has a significant influence on mainlanders` political attitudes, and this confirms the hypothesis that, in high-empowerment areas, the degree of political trust in local government among mainlanders is relatively high. In low-empowerment areas, the sense of governmental trust among mainlanders is significantly lower, and ethnic disparities are not so markedly different.