Editing Taiwanese indigenous peoples (section)

=== Current forms of assimilation ===
Many of these forms of assimilation are still at work today. For example, when a central authority [[National language|nationalizes]] one language, that attaches economic and social advantages to the prestige language. As generations pass, use of the indigenous language often fades or disappears, and linguistic and cultural identity recede as well. However, some groups are seeking to revive their indigenous identities.{{sfnp|Hsieh|2006}} One important political aspect of this pursuit is petitioning the government for official recognition as a separate and distinct ethnic group.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}

The complexity and scope of indigenous assimilation and acculturation on Taiwan has led to three general narratives of Taiwanese ethnic change. The oldest holds that Han migration from [[Fujian]] and [[Guangdong]] in the 17th century pushed the [[Plains Indigenous peoples|Plains indigenous peoples]] into the mountains, where they became the Highland peoples of today.{{sfnp|Shepherd|1993}} A more recent view asserts that through widespread intermarriage between Han and indigenous between the 17th and 19th centuries, the indigenous were completely [[Sinicized]].{{sfnp|Lamley|1981|p=282}}{{sfnp|Meskill|1979|pp=253–255}} Finally, modern [[ethnography|ethnographical]] and [[anthropology|anthropological]] studies have shown a pattern of cultural shift mutually experienced by both Han and Plains indigenous, resulting in a hybrid culture. Today people who comprise [[Han Taiwanese|Taiwan's ethnic Han]] demonstrate major cultural differences from Han elsewhere.{{sfnp|Brown|1996}}{{sfnp|Brown|2004}}