<p>Just put Asian. Problem solved. I'm a part of a Chinese ethnic minority myself, and it doesn't make any pinch of difference whether or not I put my ethnicity down, I personally don't feel the compunction to hammer my non-Hanness into a brick wall (and it's not that I don't care about being a member of my ethnicity), and nor will admission officers care about those details unless you put them down in an essay or something. The same thing IMO applies here... and I have friends from Taiwan who share the same views.</p>
<p>We're all East Non-Korean/Japanese Asians, alright? The last name alone is enough to make a point of that.</p>
<p>You are Chinese, even if you were born in Peru. You are ethnically Chinese--as are essentially all Taiwanese people. Saying that your ethnic background is Chinese is not a political statement about Taiwan vs. China. If "Chinese" is one of the choices, I think it would be deceptive for you to mark "other Asian," because you aren't from a non-Chinese ethnic group.</p>
<p>Assuming your question is not about self identify but the practical aspects of admission, Chinese/Asian for <em>most</em> schools is not considered under represented minority (URM). so I don't think it matters what or if you check a box.</p>
<p>If your name sounds Asian, it is even less an issue as the adcom will simply make the assumption. </p>
<p>If your name is not Asian sounding, and you think the school is trying to boost Asian enrollment (some East Coast schools), by all means check any Asian box.</p>
<p>umm, actually i believe 'asian' is the only "overrepresented minority" in college admissions, because being asian is a disadvantage in the admissions process.</p>
<p>about your race: you count as Chinese. like several other people said, it doesn't matter what your political affiliations are--that's not going to change your race. If an Asian person ('of Asian descent') was born in Africa and lived in Africa their whole life, they would still count as racially Asian and not African. And what your ethnicity is does not depend on what the government is. Suppose one day the US turns into a dictatorship--even if no one supported the government and political system, they would still consider themselves American.</p>
<p>**and many people from the mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and even those HuaRen who were born+raised in other countries can read both Simplified + Traditional.</p>
<p>I absolutely loathe the "asian" box. Hate it.</p>
<p>WHy does this box group together most of the world's population AND the Pacific Islands together??? It includes millions of different races!!!!!!!</p>
<p>I'm East Indian and Singaporean by ancestry, and I think that Indians and Chinese are clearly different races. They should sseparate them. Middle Eastern folks are of different races. They should separate them!!!!!</p>
<p>I refuse to check the Asian/Pacific Islander Box. I check 'other".</p>
<p>^ Well, go ahead and check the "Other" box. But your second name is sure to give your race away and the adcoms will feel as though you were trying to game the system. You'll be screwed.</p>
<p>Note: this is about ethnic background, not political issues.</p>
<p>Yes, there is a difference. "Chinese" most commonly refers to either: Han Chinese, which unified and populated most of modern day-china during the Han Dynasty, or Chinese, as in those Chinese + those in Taiwan who came over ~1949. Taiwanese people were there long before China had its issues, and can truthfully claim to be ethnically different. In fact, "Taiwanese" isn't completely accurate either, two major subgroups include the Hakka and Minnan people.</p>
<p>The point is, when people say they're Taiwanese, don't automatically assume their Chinese. There is a difference, and claiming anything else can be insulting to certain people.</p>
<p>So if Chinese is one of the choices, Taiwanese isn't, and other asian is, check other and explain your heritage.</p>
<p>You are not legally 'other' Asian because Taiwan has not moved to change its constitution, although politicians have occasionally pandered to the public by saying that they will. If your parents are Taiwanese, then you are East Asian. If you were born in Taiwan, you are East Asian.</p>