I thought it was ‘Fake China’”: Evaluating Taiwan’s Mandarin promotion as a soft power strategy

Chung, Elaine ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1137-3190 and Gao, Qipeng 2026. I thought it was ‘Fake China’”: Evaluating Taiwan’s Mandarin promotion as a soft power strategy. International Journal of Taiwan Studies Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

With the Huayu 2025 Plan, the Taiwanese government has expanded Mandarin education as a key element of its soft power strategy. This study evaluates this initiative through interviews with 30 Chinese Studies majors at a UK university, exploring their attitudes toward Taiwanese Mandarin (TM) and Taiwan as a site for language immersion. Findings reveal TM’s limited linguistic capital, shaped by Standard Language ideology, which equates ‘authentic’ Mandarin with the Mainland Chinese variety (MM), and linguistic instrumentalism, which prioritises academic performance in MM-centric curricula and perceived career advantages linked to China. These ideologies constrain the impact of Taiwan’s soft power strategy, which foregrounds its democratic identity. The study highlights tensions between political- value and cultural appeals, underscoring the need to align them with target contexts. This article provides a framework for evaluating language education as a soft power tool, shifting focus from state-led policy to audience reception.

Item Type:	Article
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Modern Languages
Subjects:	J Political Science > JQ Political institutions Asia P Language and Literature > PL Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
Publisher:	Brill
ISSN:	2468-8797
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	9 April 2026
Date of Acceptance:	3 April 2026
Last Modified:	07 May 2026 13:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/186162

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