Taiwan: A Changing Status Quo Exploration Activities

Activity 1: Creating Questions

1. Watch Meet the Journalist: Richard Bernstein in Taiwan.
2. Where is he in the video?
3. What is he discussing?
4. What questions would you like to ask him about Taiwan and its relationship with mainland China?
5. What questions would you like to ask him about how he does his reporting?

Activity 2: Timeline

1. Read “Can This Woman Move Taiwan Away from China?” and “Does Time in Taiwan Change Young Mainland Minds?”
2. As a class or in small groups, make a timeline of events mentioned in the articles.
3. Go online and see if you can find more relevant events to add to the timeline.
4. What do these events tell us about the relationship of mainland China and Taiwan? How has it changed over time? How is it the same?

Activity 3: Reunification?

1. Watch Meet the Journalist: Richard Bernstein in Taiwan and read “Can This Woman Move Taiwan Away from China?” and “Does Time in Taiwan Change Young Mainland Minds?”
2. Think about the question, “Should Taiwan reunify with mainland China?”
3. As a class or in small groups, create a “For” and “Against” list in response to the question.
4. Discuss the list.

Follow-up: Current Events

1. After you learn more about Taiwan’s history and relationship with mainland China, search for information about current events in Taiwan.
2. How did the 2016 elections impact politics in Taiwan?
3. How has it impacted the region’s relationship with mainland China?
4. How did you find this information? What constitutes a reliable source for current events?