Taiwanese people

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Taiwanese people^[I][a]

Total population
26,193,616
Regions with significant populations
Taiwan	23,888,275[1]
United States	373,943[2]–964,000[3]
Mainland China	404,000[4]
Indonesia	210,000[3]
Canada	69,550[5]–173,000[3]
Thailand	145,000[3]
Japan	52,768[6]
Brazil	38,000[3]
Vietnam	72,000[3]
Malaysia	44,000[7]
Brunei	38,000[7]
Australia	34,000[3]
South Korea	30,985[8]
Singapore	30,000[7]
France	12,000[3]
Argentina	11,000[7]
New Zealand	9,000[3]
South Africa	9,000[3]
Costa Rica	8,000[7]
United Kingdom	8,000[3]
Germany	7,050[9]
Paraguay	4,000[7]
Philippines	1,538[10]
Languages
Mandarin Taiwanese Hokkien Hakka Indigenous Taiwanese languages
Religion
Chinese folk religions Mahayana Buddhism Confucianism Taoism Minority Christianity Shintoism Other religions
Related ethnic groups
Han Taiwanese people Austronesian peoples Taiwanese indigenous peoples

The term "Taiwanese people"^[I][a] has various interpretations. It may generally be considered the people living on the island of Taiwan who share a common culture, ancestry and speak Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, or indigenous Taiwanese languages as a mother tongue. Taiwanese people may also refer to the indigenous peoples of the areas under the control of the Government of the Republic of China since 1945, including Kinmen and Matsu Islands that collectively form its streamlined Fujian Province (see Taiwan Area). However, the inhabitants of Kinmen and the Matsu Islands themselves may not consider the "Taiwanese" label to be accurate as they are a part of Fujian and not Taiwan. They have a distinctive identity from that of the Taiwanese; viewing themselves as Kinmenese or Matsunese, respectively, or as simply Chinese.^[11][12]

At least three competing (occasionally overlapping) paradigms are used to identify someone as a Taiwanese person: nationalist criteria, self-identification (including the concept of "New Taiwanese [zh]") criteria and socio-cultural criteria. These standards are fluid and result from evolving social and political issues. The complexity resulting from competing and evolving standards is compounded by a larger dispute regarding Taiwan's identity, the political status of Taiwan and its potential de jure Taiwan independence or Cross-Strait Unification.

According to government figures, over 95% of Taiwan's population of 23.4 million consists of Han Taiwanese, while 2.3% are Austronesian Taiwanese indigenous peoples. The Han are often divided into three subgroups: the Hoklo, the Hakka, and waishengren (or "mainlanders").^[13][14] Although the concept of the "four great ethnic groups" was alleged to be the deliberate attempt by the Hoklo-dominated Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to defuse ethnic tensions, this concept has become a dominant frame of reference for dealing with Taiwanese ethnic and national issues.^[15]

Despite the wide use of the "four great ethnic groups" in public discourse as essentialized identities, the relationships between the peoples of Taiwan have been in a constant state of convergence and negotiation for centuries. According to Harrel and Huang, the distinction between non-aboriginal Taiwanese groups are "no longer definitive in cultural terms".^[16]

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