Press Prism of National Identity: An empirical analysis of Taiwan’s archives

This study examines the selective perception of the "1992 Consensus" related archives in three main newspapers in Taiwan throughout six presidential elections, as reported by the press with different political orientations. Through a combined method of word segmentation and discourse analysis, the findings suggest that the three newspapers did use the interpretation of historical archives to project their political orientations and ideology on cross-strait relations. The archives related to the 1992 Consensus were initially used to refer to the secret diplomacy between both sides of the Taiwan Strait but later viewed as a solid foundation for cross-strait trade agreements, as both sides share the same history. Nowadays, the interpretation of archives from the US has raised significant disputes in Taiwan. This paper argues that archives used in political narratives can be seen as the touchstone of Taiwan's diplomatic relations and can help us better understand Taiwan's national identity.