Hearted Youtube comments on Asianometry (@Asianometry) channel.
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The Native Taiwanese, who make up around 84% of Taiwan's population according to official ROC statistics, are ethnically, linguistically, and culturally Han Chinese, based on the official modern definition of this term (the definition which most countries recognise). However, just like Guangdong, Shanghai, Fujian, and other regions of China, Taiwan has historically been home to several native dialects which are related to the official Chinese language, Mandarin, but are still quite distinct from this language. These languages can be broadly grouped up into the "Taiwanese Hokkien" and "Taiwanese Hakka" language families. Even though the Native Taiwanese only diverged from China 100-400 years ago, making them still ethnically Han Chinese, they've still been disconnected from China long enough that most Native Taiwanese no longer have direct family ties to people living in Mainland China (contrary to the situation which we can see between North Korea and South Korea). The Taiwanese are certainly a distinct and localised group within what can be referred to as the "Sinosphere" (ie, regions which are influenced by Han Chinese culture and/or are home to large ethnic Han Chinese populations), and it can be said that the Native Taiwanese are perhaps the most distinct ethnic group in China which is still considered to be a subgroup of the Han Chinese (as opposed to, say, the Tibetans, who live in China but are not considered to be Han Chinese). Culturally speaking, yes, the Native Taiwanese are Han Chinese, though the degree of Native Taiwan's "cultural Han Chinese-ness" is debatable. "Native Taiwan" is certainly culturally distinct from Mainland China and also from "Mainland Taiwan", but this isn't so much a result of radical cultural change in any of these regions as it is the result of slight cultural changes in all of these regions, and significant political changes. The three-way divergence of these three subgroups of the Han Chinese culture, in addition to cultural exchanges between these subgroups and also with foreign ethnic groups, such as the Russians, the Germans, the Americans, the Japanese, and various indigenous peoples, has resulted in three distinct cultures - Mainlander Chinese, Mainlander Taiwanese, and Native Taiwanese, which can all equally trace their heritage to the Qing Dynasty, the state which controlled China prior to the establishment of the Republic of China in Mainland China in 1912. Of course, the People's Republic of China (ie, Mainland China) currently has the strongest claim to being "the legitimate cultural successor to the Chinese Nation-State", given that it is widely recognised as the legitimate government of China. Meanwhile, the Republic of China also claims to be the true cultural successor to the Chinese Nation-State, even though it has clear and sometimes extreme cultural differences in relation to the People's Republic of China. Within the Republic of China, there is a clear cultural divide between the Mainlander Taiwanese and the Native Taiwanese, which has sometimes been perceived to be an ethnic divide between two related but distinct ethnic groups. Some of the Native Taiwanese argue that they have diverged too far from Mainlander Chinese culture to be considered as the same ethnic group. They argue that Japanese influence, as well as Taiwan having been absent from major historical and cultural events in China, such as the Xinhai Revolution, the Chinese Civil War (the beginning of it), the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Communist Revolution, and the Cultural Revolution, etc, have resulted in Taiwan becoming a culturally and ethnically distinct region from China. In fact, the influence of Japan on Taiwan has been minimal, largely due to the fact that the Republic of China quickly set about removing any and all Japanese influences from Taiwanese society as best they could, following the Chinese Annexation of Taiwan. Whilst nearly all Taiwanese people could speak conversational Japanese during the Japanese Colonial Period of Taiwan, the majority of Taiwanese people these days speak Mandarin as their primary language, possibly with a native dialect as a secondary language. However, whilst Japan's presence in Taiwan is no longer strongly felt at a fundamental level, Taiwan is still culturally distinct from Mainland China, to a debatable degree, as a result of Taiwan having not experienced many of the same cultural and historical events, and also as a result of Taiwan having been effectively a separate political entity from (Mainland) China for over a century, beginning from the 1895 handover to Japan, and continuing with the Nationalist Chinese retreat to Taiwan following the Chinese Annexation of Taiwan shortly prior.
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