A Study On The Relationship Between The European Union And Taiwan Region From The Perspective Of "Normative Power"

Trying to expand the so-called "international space" in order to obtain the support and "recognition" of relevant countries and regions has been the focus of the work of Taiwan region.The European Union,which has a special international status and important international influence,has naturally become the key task of the Taiwan region.In order to advance relations with the EU,the Taiwan region have not only continued to promote economic and trade relations between the two sides,but in recent years have also been vigorously emphasizing the so-called "common values"between Taiwan and the EU,in an attempt to cultivate a "sense of closeness" between the two sides.Regarding the EU,since the concept of "Normative Power Europe" was put forward,regardless of the theoretical level of controversy,the pace of promoting its own norms and value system in practice has never stopped.In the Taiwan Strait region,based on the value concept of "Normative Power Europe" and the dual limitations of policy objectives and policy tools in the Taiwan Strait region,the EU regards normative diffusion as an important content of relations in the Taiwan Strait.Through a series of measures,the EU has directly or indirectly promoted the Taiwan region to move closer to EU standards in some areas of value issues.The two sides have formed a relatively close interaction on issues such as human rights,gender equality,climate change,and renewable energy.In the topic area represented by the issue of equal rights for sexual minorities,the Taiwan region has even realized the"internalization" of EU norms,that is,the process of "legislation".At the same time,the spread of EU norms has also shown great limitations.For example,on the issue of the abolition of the death penalty that the EU has focused on,the Taiwan region has adopted various measures to delay the acceptance of EU norms,showing obvious characteristics of "norm containment".What caused this limitation of the diffusion of EU norms?Through the comparative study of the abolition of the death penalty and the equal rights of sexual minorities,it is found that group split is a key variable that affects the acceptance of EU norms in Taiwan.When a certain normative issue is faced with a higher degree of group division,that is,when public opposition is high and there is no core support group,the main political parties in Taiwan will be more inclined to delay the internalization of EU norms with various strategies,resulting in a "norm containment";on the contrary,it is easier to accept EU regulations and realize "norm internalization".This discovery enriches the theoretical system on the influence factors of norm diffusion,and refines the process by which group split and party competition affect the norms diffusion.At the same time,this finding also shows that the diffusion of EU norms has its limits,and the breadth and depth of its spread cannot exceed the acceptance of general public opinion on the island of Taiwan.In view of the progress of the Taiwan region and the EU in the field of normative interaction and its limits,on the one hand,Chinese mainland must continue to promote exchanges between compatriots on both sides of the strait,and promote mutual understanding and trust between compatriots on both sides of the strait.On the other hand,Chinese mainland must seriously deal with the prejudices and misunderstandings that may be caused by different normative systems.While promoting the interaction and understanding between China and the EU in the normative field,China must also contribute more norms with Chinese characteristics to the international community.