English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies ISSN 2640-9836 (Print) ISSN 2640-9844 (Online) Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls 150 Original Paper A Critical Discourse Analysis of Tsai Ing-Wen’s Political Speeches on Cross-Strait Relations Yangjuan Xie1 1 Hongling Experimental School (Xinzhou), Shenzhen, China Received: July 28, 2023 Accepted: September 19, 2023 Online Published: October 02, 2023 doi:10.22158/eltls.v5n4p150 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/eltls.v5n4p150 Abstract The growth of cross-strait relations has garnered lots of concern for a very long time. However, it is noticeable that since Tsai Ing-wen was elected “president” of Taiwan in 2016, cross-strait relations have progressively reached an impasse. Tsai’s political speeches since then have had a great impact on both the public and the development of cross-Strait ties. This paper chooses Tsai’s political speeches to conduct a critical discourse analysis based on the Martin’s Attitude System (2005). Nine political speeches that Tsai addressed publicly during her first term, from 2016 to 2021, are selected as study data. The goals of the study are to explore the features and functions of the attitudinal resources in these speeches as well as how these resources are realized to construe meanings, as well as what ideology Tsai implied behind the discourse. Throughout Tsai’s appraisal resources, it is found that her evaluation of mainland China mainly involved implicit strategies, and most of them were negative, while her evaluation of Taiwan authorities mainly used explicit strategies, and most of them were positive. As a result, Tsai constructed different images of both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Keywords critical discourse analysis, Attitude System, Tsai Ing-wen’s political speeches, cross-strait relations 1. Introduction The growth of cross-strait relations has been a long-term concern in China, and it is not only a political problem but also a social issue. To establish a positive interactive relationship between both sides of the Taiwan Strait, mainland China has made lots of efforts. In 1992, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait reached the “1992 Consensus”, which showed that both sides adhered to the one-China principle. Since then, the “1992 Consensus” has become the political basis for conducting cross-strait dialogues. As President Xi Jinping (2019) addressed, it had been our common vision to realize the complete reunification of China over the past 70 years. The Taiwan issue is the legacy of China’s civil war, and www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 151 Published by SCHOLINK INC. handling the problem properly is urgent and necessary. Therefore, the young generation needs to focus on cross-strait development and contribute to its positive progress. Although it is true that since the regional isolation between the mainland and Taiwan was broken in the late 1980s, cross-strait relations have been softened in general. However, the trend toward steady and peaceful development started to decline after Tsai Ing-wen was elected as the regional leader of Taiwan in 2016. Tsai has never admitted the “1992 Consensus” or the One-China policy. As Ni (2016) noted, Tsai’s policy adjustment is “an empty suit”. Since being inaugurated as the regional leader of Taiwan on May 5th, 2016, Tsai has addressed the public frequently by multiple means, such as exclusive interviews, public speeches, and deliveries at conferences, among which some involve cross-strait issues and relations. Tsai, as a regional leader, was skilled in making use of public speeches to express her ideology and attitudes towards mainland China and cross-strait development. Hence, it is significant to study Tsai’s political speeches. According to Martin and Rose (2007), Appraisal is a system of interpersonal meanings, and the resources of Appraisal are used for negotiating social relationships. Through appraisal, we can find out the attitudes the speakers and writers explicitly and implicitly convey in their discourse. Therefore, to conduct a critical discourse analysis of Tsai’s political speeches on cross-strait relations, it is advisable to adopt the approach of the Appraisal System. 2. Literature Review Political speeches are some kinds of speeches that people direct at domestic affairs and foreign relations to express political positions, expatiate viewpoints, and publicize opinions (Li Yuanshou & Zou Kunshan, 2003). Speeches such as election speeches, policy speeches, the inaugural speeches of the head of government, the administration speeches of leaders at all levels, and the speeches people address at political gatherings representing certain classes, parties, or individual opinions, to some extent, all belong to political speeches. As an important way to present personal views, political speeches have a role in persuading, educating, stimulating, and unifying people (Zhang Delu & Sun Shiguang, 2014). Overseas researchers study political speeches from different perspectives, such as rhetoric, cognitive linguistics, and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). In ancient Greece, rhetoric was an important way of persuading in public speaking, especially in political speeches. Aristotle, in his work The Art of Rhetoric, considered that rhetoric could be referred to as the function that people seek in every available persuasive means under certain circumstances (1992). For politicians, the adoption of rhetoric in their speeches is a common method. In 1997, Gill and Whedbee analyzed the famous speech “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King, in which they showed that Martin’s speech adopted many rhetorical devices to persuade the audience. George P. Lakoff (1990) studied political speeches from the perspective of cognitive linguistics. He believed that metaphor is not only a language phenomenon but also a mode of thinking as well as a www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 152 Published by SCHOLINK INC. cognitive phenomenon. He examined metaphors in political speeches and analyzed how politicians used metaphors to reach their political goals. Norman Fairclough adopted CDA to analyze political speeches. In 2003, he studied the relationship between language and social changes by analyzing political discourse in the book Analyzing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Discourse. Domestic scholars have also conducted lots of studies on political speeches, mainly including rhetoric, cognition, and linguistics. Zhang Delu and Sun Shiguang (2007) studied the rhetorical features of diplomatic speeches from the perspective of Western rhetoric. Dou Weilin and Chen Danhong (2009) employed CDA to analyze the intertextuality in the political speeches of the leaders of China and America. They made a comparative analysis and examined the ideology and political motives behind the speeches. Yang Min (2011) studied several academic papers focusing on Western political discourse from a pragmatic perspective, which could give Chinese scholars clues to the application of linguistic theories to research in political discourse. Wang Shaohua (2011) analyzed political speech from the perspective of cognition. He analyzed two speeches concerning American policy in the Muslim world addressed by Bush and Obama and made a contrastive analysis of them, which reveals the persuasiveness of conceptual metaphors in political speeches. Researchers also studied political speeches from the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). Hunag Guowen (2017) studied the political speech of President Xi Jinping with the approach of SFL, in which he indicated the features of the register and genre of the political speech and examined the meaning realized through three metafunctions. Xv Zhongyi (2017) integrated cognitive linguistics and modality in SFL to form a new analytical framework to explore three politicians’ political speeches. She analyzed how different modality markers embodied different cognitive distances to realize speakers’ intention and persuasive function. 3. Method 3.1 Martin’s Attitude System According to Martin and Rose (2007), appraisal is a system of interpersonal meanings, and people can use the resources of Appraisal for negotiating social relationships by telling their listeners or readers how they feel about things and people, namely, what their attitudes are. Appraisal is further classified into three interacting domains, namely, attitude, engagement, and graduation. In other words, they are the subsystems of appraisal. Attitude has to do with evaluating things, people’s character, and their feelings. The system of attitude involves three semantic regions, including what is traditionally referred to as emotion, ethics, and aesthetics. Attitude is gradable, and it can be expressed explicitly and implicitly. The three kinds of attitude are affect (emotion), judgement (ethics), and appreciation (aesthetics). Affect represents the emotive aspect of meaning and is concerned with registering positive and www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 153 Published by SCHOLINK INC. negative feelings, which answers questions like “Do we feel happy or sad, confident or anxious, interested or bored?”. Martin and White (2008) drew upon the following six factors to classify the types of affect: positive affect and negative affect, behavioral surge and mental process/state, reaction to others and indirect mood, graduation of affect, realis and irrealis, and classification of affect. Judgement is concerned with our attitudes toward people and the way they behave. Generally, judgement can be sub-classified into “social esteem” and “social sanction”, and there is positive and negative judgement. Social esteem is related to personal judgement, which tends to evaluate other people’s behaviour and character in terms of social convention. Social sanction is concerned with moral judgement, which tends to evaluate other people’s behaviour and character concerning rules, regulations, laws, etc. Appreciation belongs to the aesthetic category, which refers to our evaluations of “things”, especially things we make and performances we give, of text/process and natural phenomena. There is positive appreciation and negative appreciation, too. And generally, appreciation can be divided into our “reaction” to things, their “composition”, and their “valuation”. Martin and White (2008) considered that evaluation that has been directly inscribed in discourse can be examined via the use of attitudinal lexis. According to the lexical items they listed, attitudinal lexis are mainly adjectives, adverbs, verbs, and nouns showing one’s attitude. However, attitude can be expressed even if there is no explicit attitudinal lexis. In this situation, attitude is realized indirectly. Martin and White also provided some strategies to identify attitudinal resources dealing with this case. The strategies are presented as follows: Figure 3.1 Strategies for Expressing Attitudes Based on the above introduction, this study conducts a critical discourse analysis under the analytical framework of the Attitude System. In addition to the explicit attitudinal lexis, the inscribed attitude and the invoked attitude are also explored. The system for the present study is shown as follows: www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 154 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Figure 3.2 Attitude System 4. Research Design 4.1 Research Questions The purpose of this paper, on the one hand, is to reveal Tsai’s real attitude and purpose towards mainland China and cross-strait relations through the identification of attitudinal resources in Tsai’s political speeches. On the other hand, the research hopes to offer some hints about the possibilities of cross-strait development with a critical analysis of Tsia’s speeches. It adopts the Attitude System to conduct a critical discourse analysis. To reach the goals, three related questions are put forward. 1) What attitudinal resources are distributed in Tsai’s political speeches? 2) What are the features and functions of these attitudinal resources? 3) How are these attitudinal resources converted to construe meanings? 4.2 Data Collection The present study is mainly a qualitative analysis with minor statistical processing. Due to the focus of the paper, Tsai Ing-wen’s political speeches on cross-strait relations are selected for analysis. All the speeches delivered by Tsai are acquired from the website https://www.president.gov.tw/Default.aspx. Tsai Ing-wen was the regional leader of Taiwan from 2016 to 2022. She has given many speeches in public to propagandize her ideology, especially during her first term. Her political speeches have played a representative role in showing her attitudes, explicit and implied, towards cross-Strait issues and the mainland. In order to reveal Tsai’s ideology behind her discourse on cross-strait relations, nine political speeches Tsai delivered during her first term at different landmark times were carefully www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 155 Published by SCHOLINK INC. selected as cases to conduct a critical discourse analysis. The speeches are examined in terms of the distribution of attitudinal resources, and then the features and functions of these resources are analyzed critically. These speeches are listed in the following table: Table 4.1 Nine Political Speeches by Tsai Ing-Wen 5. Result and Discussion After carefully and repeatedly discerning and examining, it is discovered that the attitudinal resources in Tsai’s political speeches on cross-strait relations are not so abundant, but they do function effectively to demonstrate her attitudes and evaluations towards cross-strait relations and the mainland. Another finding is that Tsai seldom used the attitudinal resources of affect, while she employed the means of judgement and valuation more often. Besides, Tsai expressed positive and negative attitudes towards the different things being appraised, i.e., the people or things being evaluated. A general statistical result of the distribution of the attitudinal resources of her speeches on cross-strait relations in the nine speeches is given below. To distinguish positive and negative attitudes, the minus sign “-” is used to represent the negative attitude. For example, “42.1% (-5.3%)” means that there are 5.3% negative attitudinal resources in the 42.1% of attitudinal resources. Table 5.1 Distribution of Attitudinal Resources of Tsai’s Political Speeches on Cross-Straits Relations Number Date Topic Lengths of Speeches Case 1 May 20, 2016 Inaugural Speech 634 words/2 minutes (2’) Case 2 October 10, 2016 Double-Ten Speech (or National Day Speech) 592words/3’22’’ Case 3 December 12, 2016 Annual Speech 381words/1’46’’ Case 4 May 19, 2017 Speech on the 1st Anniversary in Power 230words/1’43’’ Case 5 October 10, 2017 Double-Ten Speech 490words/2’26’’ Case 6 December 29, 2017 Annual Speech 218words/0’55’’ Case 7 October 10, 2018 Double-Ten Speech 713words/3’05’’ Case 8 January 1, 2019 New Year Address 1064words/5’13’’ Case 9 January 2, 2019 Address Responding to President Xi Jinping’s Commemorative Speech on the 40th Anniversary of Issuing Messages to Compatriots in Taiwan 1155words/5’28’’ Frequency www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 156 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Given a glance, we can learn from Table 5.1 that positive attitudinal resources take up a larger proportion than negative ones. Considering the appraised, including Tsai and her government, cross-strait relations and policies, the mainland and Beijing authorities, and leaders of both sides of the strait, etc., Tsai generally attributed the positive resources to her side, while implied negative evaluation to the side of the mainland. The above table, however, does not show the inscribed (explicit) and invoked (implied) resources. It is also notable that Tsai did not usually overtly criticize or condemn the side of the mainland; instead, she tended to invoke a negative evaluation of the side of the mainland. One function of the invoked attitude is to represent the attitude involving personal viewpoints and ideology as objective and factual (Liao, 2008). Therefore, by adopting the strategies of invocation, Tsai could align the audiences with her opinions and ideology and could reduce the risks of being refused by the audiences who were for or against her ideology with these implicit expressions. A detailed analysis of those approaches and resources that Tsai co-employed in her political speeches on cross-strait relations will be examined with examples in the following parts in terms of affect, Judgement, and appreciation. 5.1 Affect Affect is related to “mapping positive and negative feelings, such as our feelings of happiness or sadness, confidence or anxiety, and interest or boredom” (Martin & White, 2008). Affect in political speeches can be an effective means to call forth sympathy and empathy in the audience. However, too much affect may, to some extent, decrease the seriousness of political speeches. Martin and White (2008) discussed four types of affect: dis/inclination, dis/inclination, un/happiness, in/security, and dis/satisfaction. In our data on Tsai’s political speeches on cross-strait relations, each type is found, although the frequency is quite low. We can get an overall view from Table 5.2. The minus sign “-” signifies the negative feature of affect. Affect Judgement Appreciation Case 1 0 57.9% 42.1% (-5.3%) 100% Case 2 2.6% 47.4% 50% (-15.8%) 100% Case 3 4.2% 70.8% (-29.1%) 25% (-20.8%) 100% Case 4 9% 63.4% (-9%) 27.3% (-9%) 100% Case 5 3.4% 55.2% 44.1% (-13.8%) 100% Case 6 0 26.7% 73.3% (-20%) 100% Case 7 -4.3% 71.9% (-26.3%) 21.7% (-13%) 100% Case 8 -2.2% 46.7% (-31.1%) 51.1% (-31.1%) 100% Case 9 0 65.7% (-42.9%) 34.3% (-14.3%) 100% www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 157 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Table 5.2 Distribution of Affect in Tsai’s Political Speeches on Cross-Straits Relations Number Frequency Sub-types Case 2 2.6% inclination Case 3 4.2% inclination Case 4 9% inclination Case 5 3.3% happiness Case 7 -4.3% insecurity dissatisfaction Case 8 2.2% unhappiness As the statistics show in Table 5.2, in Tsai’s political speeches on cross-strait relations, the resources of affect are the least amount, and some cases even do not have this type of attitude. The limited resources of affect will be discussed and analyzed in the following examples to help figure out the functions they perform. Examples 5.1: Examples of Inclination Case 2: 两岸之间应该要尽快坐下来谈。 (The two sides of the Taiwan Strait should sit down and talk as soon as possible.) As Martin and White (2008) noted, there were two major types of strategies for expressing attitude. Attitude can be inscribed (explicitly expressed) via attitudinal lexis or invoked (implicitly conveyed) via the strategies of provoke, flag, and afford. Among these strategies, flag refers to the way of invoking attitude via lexicogrammatical resources such as counter-expectation and intensification. In this example, the affect of inclination is not explicitly expressed with attitudinal lexis, such as happy and sad, nor with lexical metaphor. Rather, it is invoked, namely, indirectly expressed by utilizing the flag, which is realized via intensification “尽快 (as soon as possible)”. Examining the expression “as soon as possible”, we know that Tsai was requesting or feeling some kind of urge to have a conversation between both sides of the strait. It may attract the audience’s attention to the demand for political talks between Taiwan and the mainland. Tsai’s demand seemed appropriate and beneficial for improving cross-strait relations. Therefore, it may help Tsai build a positive image as a communicator when dealing with cross-strait issues. The expression “as soon as possible” indicated the surge of the behaviour of request, which showed Tsai’s willingness to conduct a dialogue, thus it belongs to positive affect-inclination. Case 3: 我们也本于尊重历史及求同存异的精神，向对岸持续释出善意，期盼透过双方良性互动， 逐步化解对立和分歧。 (We have also continuously released goodwill to the other side of the Taiwan Strait in the spirit of respecting history and seeking common ground while reserving differences, expecting to resolve confrontation and divergence gradually through benign interaction between us.) www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 158 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Case 4: 我盼望对岸的领导人,能够正确解读去年选举的意义。 (I expect that the leaders on the other side of the Taiwan Strait can correctly interpret the significance of the election last year.) According to the classification of Martin and White (2008), depositions like miss, long for, and yearn for, connoting the feature of desire, all belong to the positive affect of inclination. In the above two pieces of discourse, Tsai’s feeling of desire was delivered and naturally formed a positive effect of inclination. However, it is expressed explicitly or inscribed with the attitudinal lexis “期盼/盼望 (expect)”. In Case 3, the verb “expect” was severed to signify Tsai’s positive feeling, which could arouse attention to her expectation for cross-strait interaction and her wish to resolve the existing confrontation between the two sides of the strait. In Case 4, the verb “expect” directly evinced Tsai’s yearning for understanding from the leaders of the mainland. Tsai used inscribed affect to demonstrate her expectation, but she did not mention the reason why she wanted to make such calls. It thus leaves space for the audience to guess the reason, which may have to do with the other party mentioned in her discourse, i.e., the mainland. Such guesses, however, are more likely to cause negative viewpoints, as Tsai implied that the other party should be responsible for the unpleasant situation. Examples 5.2: Examples of Un/happiness Case 5: 那些亲人见面的画面，即使到了今天，一起回想起来，依然深受感动。 (Even today, when I recall the scenes of those loved ones meeting, I am still deeply moved.) Case 8: 一旦猪瘟传进台湾,不仅会重创相关产业,影响民生经济,更重要的,会造成台湾民众对对岸 的负面观感｡我们不乐见这样的情况发生｡ (Once the swine fever spreads to Taiwan, it will not only inflict heavy losses on the relevant industries but also affect the livelihood economy. More importantly, it will cause the Taiwanese people to have a negative impression of the other side of the Taiwan Strait. We are unhappy to see this happening.) Un/happiness is one kind of affect that deals with “the moods of feeling happy or sad and the possibility of directing these emotions at a Trigger by liking or disliking it” (Martin & White, 2008). In Case 5, Tsai expressed her feeling of being moved by the Trigger—the pictures of people reunited together. The word “感动 (touched)” means feeling happy and grateful because of something. Here, Tsai inscribed the positive affect of happiness to form an approachable image with personal emotions instead of a cold and serious political leader. Tsai in Case 8 communicated the opposite attitude: unhappiness. The vocabulary “不乐 (unhappy)” explicitly expressed her negative feeling of unhappiness. Combining the context, we can learn that Tsai’s negative emotion was triggered by the spread of swine fever from the mainland (she mentioned this in the former part of the speech). Seemingly, Tsai just expressed her personal feeling of disliking the swine fever. However, given the reasons for her negative affect, it can be concluded that she was not happy with the source from which the swine fever came. From the two cases, it can be seen that Tsai used positive and negative attitudinal resources to build a positive image of herself while construing the mainland as negative and dangerous. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 159 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Example 5.3: Example of insecurity Case 7: 台湾位处西太平洋第一线，自然承受巨大的压力。 (Taiwan is located at the forefront of the Western Pacific and is naturally under tremendous pressure.) In/security deals with “people’s feelings of peace and anxiety concerning our environs, including the people sharing them with us” (Martin & White, 2008). In the above Case 7, the bold parts are the attitudinal resources of insecurity. Although Tsai did not directly express that Taiwan is in danger, by understanding the ideational meaning of the clause, it can be learned that it invoked a negative evaluation of the power that put huge pressure on Taiwan, i.e., the mainland which she mentioned in the former clause. This type of negative attitude is not inscribed by attitudinal lexis, nor is it invoked by lexical metaphors or resources of counter-expectation and intensification. Here, the strategy Tsai used is afford, which is realized via experiential information in the clause. Because of the experiential information Tsai implied, the state of Taiwan was insecure. Example 5.4: Example of Dis/satisfaction Case 7: 我不会因一时的激愤，走向冲突对抗，而让两岸关系陷入险境。 (I will not go to conflict and confrontation because of the fury in a moment and let cross-strait relations fall into danger.) Dis/satisfaction is related to “our feelings of achievement and frustration concerning the activities in which we take part, including our roles as both participants and spectators” (Martin & White, 2008). The emotional disposition of furious belongs to the negative affect of dis/satisfaction. In this case, Tsai inscribed her negative attitude via the attitudinal lexis “激愤 (fury)” . Negative as it is, “fury” in the context is a kind of feeling that Tsai can control. As Tsai said, she would not conflict with the mainland and would not put cross-Strait relations in danger because of her furious emotion. This resource of affect, therefore, also serves to form a poised and rational image of Tsai Ing-wen. Although it did express that Tsai was dissatisfied, of course, with the authorities on the mainland, for what reasons? Thus, “fury” has a second function here: inviting the audience to notice and consider Tsai’s negative affect. In summary, affect as a way of registering human feelings can directly reflect people’s feelings, whether they are negative or positive. In Tsai’s political speeches on cross-strait relations, she used very few affect resources; however, she made full use of these resources to promote her ideology. She utilized affect to form an approachable and rational personal image while construing the mainland as negative and dangerous. She also invoked the insecure state of Taiwan and implied that the mainland was to blame. All in all, Tsai employed different attitudinal strategies in her speeches to build different personal, regional, and national images of herself, Taiwan, and the mainland, respectively. 5.2 Judgement Judgment in the Attitude System deals with our attitudes toward people and their character (Martin, 2008). It can be positive or negative. Generally, judgement is divided into two subsystems: social www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 160 Published by SCHOLINK INC. esteem and social sanction. The first type concerns “normality”, “capability”, and “tenacity”, and the other type has to do with “veracity” and “propriety”. Compared with affect, the resources of judgement are more abundant in the nine cases. Tsai used this kind of attitudinal resource in her political speeches on cross-strait relations mainly to evaluate herself, the government she led, the leaders of the mainland, and the actions of both sides. The distribution of judgement is given as follows to help us have a general view of the specific types of judgment Tsai employed. The minus sign “-” represents that the resource is negative. Table 5.3 Distribution of Judgement in Tsai’s Political Speeches on Cross-Strait Relations Number Frequency Total Social Esteem Social Sanction Normality Capacity Tenacity Veracity Propriety Case 1 0 27.3% 54.5% 0 18.2% 100% Case 2 0 16.7% 50% 0 33.3% (-11.1%) 100% Case 3 0 0 41.2% 0 58.8% (-41.2%) 100% Case 4 0 42.9% (-14.3%) 28.6% 0 28.6% 100% Case 5 0 31.25% 37.5% 6.25% 25% 100% Case 6 0 25% 50% 0 25% 100% Case 7 5.9% 3% 32.4% 3% 55.9% (-32.4%) 100% Case 8 0 9.5% (-4.8%) 9.5% 28.6% (-23.8%) -52.4% 100% Case 9 0 4.3% 26.1% (-4.3%) 13% (-8.7%) 56.5% (-52.2%) 100% From the above table, normality only occurs in Case 7, which takes the least amount. Tenacity and propriety have a relatively larger frequency. Viewing from the timeline, generally, the closer the delivery date was, the more negative judgement Tsai expressed in her political speeches on cross-strait relations, though positive evaluation is still in the dominant position. The tendency to adopt more negative judgement may, to some extent, reflect Tsai’s changing attitudes toward cross-strait development and the mainland. As cross-strait relations gradually fell into a deadlock during Tsai’s tenure as a regional leader, Tsai could change her discourse strategies in expressing her attitude to maintain her ideology. In the following part, we will look at the attitudinal resources and strategies Tsai employed to demonstrate her judgement of cross-strait issues and both authorities of the strait. Examples of different types of judgement will be given to conduct a qualitative and critical analysis. Example 5.5: Example of Normality Case 7: 捍卫台湾的最佳方案，就是要让台湾在世界上变得不可或缺，也不可取代。 (The best solution to defending Taiwan is to make Taiwan indispensable and irreplaceable in the www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 161 Published by SCHOLINK INC. world.) Normality is concerned with the evaluation of a speciality, namely, how unusual someone is. Taiwan, “attitudinal lexis “不可或缺 (indispensable)” and “不可取代 (irreplaceable)” show the explicit positive evaluation of what Taiwan should become, or what she wanted Taiwan to be. To be “indispensable” or “irreplaceable” means to be unique or special. Tsai depicted a good vision of Taiwan by expressing positive attitudes toward Taiwan and the way Taiwan ought to go. However, whether the so-called optimal solution she proposed would be effective or beneficial to Taiwan was hard to say. Tsai employed such expressions of positive normality to motivate the audience to align with her ideological position. Examples 5.6: Examples of Capability Case 4: 两岸外交的部分，我们坚守的立场跟价值，都没有改变。这证明我所领导的政府团队， 有能力把台湾带往更好的方向。 (Concerning the cross-strait diplomacy, the position and value we stick to have not changed. This proves that the government team I lead is capable of bringing Taiwan in a better direction.) Capability deals with evaluations concerning how capable someone is. If an individual is evaluated with positive capability, it means that the appraiser shows his or her admiring attitude. In Case 4, the speech Tsai delivered on her first anniversary in power in Taiwan, Tsai used the expression “有能力 (be capable of)” to tell the audience that her government team was capable of bringing Taiwan a better future. She admired her leadership team and indicated that she identified with what the government had done. As the regional leader, Tsai of course represented her government team and worked for her government’s interests. However, it remained unsure whether the interests of her government truly represented the interests of the public. Through her inscribed attitude, Tsai may convince the audience of her team’s capabilities. Case 5: 从去年 520 到现在，为维护两岸关系和平稳定发展，我们尽了最大的善意。虽然因为双 方政治立场差距造成两岸的波折，但也努力维持两岸关系的基本稳定。 (From May 20 last year to now, we have done our utmost goodwill to maintain the peaceful and stable development of cross-strait relations. The gap in political standing between the two sides has caused twists and turns on both sides of the Straits, but we have also endeavoured to maintain the basic stability of cross-strait relations.) This case also covers Tsai’s positive evaluation of her government team. The word “努力 (endeavour) “demonstrated that Tsai and her government tried with great effort to maintain the stability of cross-strait relations, which shows that they could achieve such a situation. As to the instability between the two sides of the strait, she just mentioned it without shouldering any responsibility. Tsai shifted her focus by using the word “但 (but)” , which led the audience to pay attention to what she “endeavoured” to maintain stability. Tsai utilized the attitudinal lexis “endeavour” to express her positive evaluation of her side and built an image of being capable and a peace-pursuer for her side. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 162 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Case 8: 在最近非洲猪瘟的防疫工作上，对岸政府一直没有依照相关协议，将疫情诚实地、实时 地通报给台湾。 (In the recent anti-epidemic work of African swine fever, the government on the other side of the Taiwan Strait has not truthfully and timely reported the epidemic to Taiwan in accordance with relevant agreements) In contrast, negative judgement shows criticism from the appraiser. In the above case, which was addressed in the New Year of 2019, Tsai criticized the government of the mainland for their incapability to inform Taiwan of the news of swine fever “实时地 (timely)”. Tsai inscribed her negative attitude towards the mainland authorities, which may cause the audience to have a negative impression of the mainland. Tsai intentionally made use of this inscribed strategy to synchronize the audience’s ideological position with her ideology. Examples 5.7: Examples of Tenacity Case 2: 我们的承诺不会改变，我们的善意不会改变，我们也不会在压力下屈服，更不会走回对 抗的老路。 (Our commitment will not change. Our goodwill will not change, and we will not yield under pressure, nor will we go back to the old road of confrontation.) Tenacity has to do with people’s resolution. Judging an individual as resolute is considered a positive judgement. In Case 2, Tsai did not directly praise her side as resolute. However, she used four clauses to hint at such character. The expressions “不会改变 (will not change)” and “不会走回 (will not go back)” emphasized her resolution of staying the same—keeping the commitment, holding the goodwill, not yielding under pressure, and not provoking conflicts. The positive judgement is realized by “afford”, i.e., the ideational meaning of the four clauses. Tsai, on the other hand, expressed her attitudes and stance. On the other hand, she gave a positive evaluation of her stance via the strategy of affording. Case 7: 过去两年，在中国的压力之下，我们坚持价值理念，展现高度韧性。 (Over the past two years, under the pressure of China, we have adhered to the values and demonstrated high resilience.) Tsai not only expressed her positive judgement of her side implicitly but also directly admired her government team. In Case 7, Tsai used the expression “高度韧性 (high resilience)” to describe Taiwan’s behaviour under pressure, which she claimed was coming from the mainland. By adopting the inscribed attitudinal lexis “high resilience”, Tsai, on the one hand, depicted her government team as tough and resilient, thus maintaining a positive governmental image. Meanwhile, she constructed the mainland as the source of pressure, whose image, therefore, was negative. Case 9: 民主价值是台湾人民所珍惜的价值与生活方式，我们也呼吁中国，勇敢踏出民主的脚步。 也唯有如此，才能真正理解台湾人的想法与坚持。 (The value of democracy is the value and lifestyle cherished by the people of Taiwan. We also call on China to bravely step out of the footsteps of democracy. Only in this way can China truly understand the ideas and persistence of Taiwanese people.) www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 163 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Case 9 was abstracted from Tsai’s speech in response to President Xi’s address on the 40th anniversary of issuing messages to compatriots in Taiwan. The contents of Tsai’s speech are related to cross-strait policies and cross-strait relations. In this speech, Tsai delivered many negative evaluations, mainly in an implicit manner, towards the mainland. The above case is one representative example. In this case, Tsai implied her ideology of the mainland as lacking courage or timidity. As she said, she appealed to China to “勇敢地踏出民主的脚步 (bravely step out of the footsteps of democracy)”. Such expressions implied that Tsai conceived the mainland as lacking bravery or timidity in front of democracy. It may further infer that the mainland is lacking in democracy. Tsai seemingly sent a kind call of action to the mainland but expressed a negative evaluation of the mainland through the invoked strategy. Examples 5.8: Examples of veracity Case 5: 两岸从敌对走向和平发展，为两岸关系写下了历史新页，关键就在双方可以搁置政治争 议，实事求是。 (Over the past 30 years, the two sides have moved from being hostile to peaceful development, which has written a new page on history for cross-strait relations. (The key is that both sides can shelve political disputes and seek truth from facts.) Veracity, as one type of social sanction, is concerned with truth, that is, how truthful someone is. Positive veracity praises people as truthful, honest, frank, etc. In Case 5, Tsai described the actions that both sides of the strait took as “实事求是 (the character of seeking truth from facts)” . This time, she showed positive evaluations of both sides. But in the following context, Tsai appealed to the mainland to cherish the current peaceful cross-strait relationship, which may invoke the feeling that the mainland did not cherish this achievement. The expression “seeking truth from facts” here served as a first step in foreshadowing her implied ideology in the following discourse. It can be found that Tsai did not purely praise the mainland government. Case 7: 我也不会背离民意，牺牲台湾的主权。 (I will not deviate from public opinions and sacrifice Taiwan’s sovereignty.) The above case is selected from Tsai’s speech on Double-Ten Day, the National Day of the Republic of China, in 2018. In this speech, Tsai talked about the pressure from the mainland and expressed her attitude of not yielding to the pressure. This case also showed her attitude in the face of the pressure. The expression “不会背离 (will not deviate from) “ showed that Tsai would not betray the Taiwanese people and would follow their opinions. In other words, it explicitly expressed Tsai’s faithfulness to the Taiwanese public. Tsai thus shaped a loyal image for herself. Case 8: 在最近非洲猪瘟的防疫工作上，对岸政府一直没有依照相关协议，将疫情诚实地、实时 地通报给台湾。 (In the recent anti-epidemic work of African swine fever, the government on the other side of the Taiwan Strait has not truthfully and timely reported the epidemic to Taiwan in accordance with relevant agreements) www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 164 Published by SCHOLINK INC. The above Case 8 has been mentioned and discussed from another perspective. In terms of veracity, it revealed Tsai’s negative evaluation of the government on the mainland. Tsai in this case was discontented with the government of the other side because she thought the mainland did not “诚实地 (truthfully)” notify Taiwan authorities of the issues concerning the swine fever. In this case, we could find the specific reasons why Tsai gave a negative evaluation to the mainland authorities. By blaming the government of the mainland, Tsai also intended to stimulate the audience to align with her ideology besides noticing or accepting her judgment. Examples 5.9: Examples of Propriety Case 3: 北京当局，正一步步地退回对台湾分化、打压，甚至威胁、恫吓的老路。 (The Beijing authorities are gradually returning to the old way of dividing, suppressing, and even threatening and intimidating Taiwan.) Propriety is about ethics, namely, how ethical someone is. Negative propriety conveys the appraiser’s condemnation of the individual(s) being appraised. In this case, Tsai, as the appraiser, depicted the behaviour of Beijing authorities as dangerous and negative to indicate the mainland government was within reproach. In her speech, the Beijing authorities tried to fight against Taiwan with action words like “分化 (dividing)”, “打压 (repressing)”, and even “威胁(threatening)” and “恫吓 (intimidating)”. Tsai used these attitudinal lexeis to create a state of insecurity in Taiwan and put Beijing authorities in the role of a dangerous troublemaker. Such inscribed resources of negative propriety strongly implied her ideological position, which may evoke the audiences’ insecure emotions and follow her discourse. However, the authenticity of Tsai’s discourse does not merit serious discussion. Case 5: 从去年 520 到现在，为维护两岸关系和平稳定发展，我们尽了最大的善意。 (From May 20 last year to now, we have done our utmost goodwill to maintain the peaceful and stable development of cross-strait relations.) Negative propriety could show the individual’s praise to the appraised, such as the character of being good, moral, polite, generous, etc. In the above case, Tsai said she has “尽最大的善意 (utmost goodwill)” to maintain the peace and stability between the two sides of the strait since he formally became the regional leader of Taiwan. The attitudinal lexis “utmost goodwill” attributes people as good and moral. Therefore, it directly expressed Tsai’s positive propriety of what she had done to maintain cross-strait relations. A positive image of her side, therefore, was built through her explicit attitude. Case 8: 两岸之间的政治议题，不应该是以片面的主张来强迫我方接受。 (As to the political issues between the two sides of the strait, we should not be forced to accept them through one-sided claims.) Except for the inscribed strategy, Tsai also used the invoked strategy to express the judgement of propriety. After reading the experiential information in Case 8 above, we can find that Tsai indicated there was some power forcing her side to accept the political agenda or political ideology. From the context of this speech, it is apparent that the power Tsai referred to was the mainland government. Tsai once again employed the strategy of “afford” to project negative judgement onto the mainland. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 165 Published by SCHOLINK INC. According to the statistics, in this speech, the New Year speech in 2019, Tsai in total expressed eleven negative proprieties, and the appraised was the mainland government. Among these negative attitudes, nine of them were invoked, namely, the negative evaluations were expressed by Tsai indirectly. Compared with the inscribed attitude, the invoked one can be more acceptable because it is implied and vaguely expressed. Therefore, via the strategy of invocation, Tsai could spread her ideology and invoke the audiences’ negative impressions of the mainland government. Due to the focus of this paper, not all cases are selected to be discussed and analyzed. But combining the statistics and the qualitative analysis above, it can be summarized that Tsai Ing-wen employed different strategies to inscribe and invoke positive and negative judgement. Concerning social esteem, Tsai expressed a very positive attitude towards her government team, which was depicted as resolute and capable. In terms of social sanction, she invoked a negative impact on the other side of the strait, and the mainland authorities were generally shaped as negative, dangerous, and dishonest. As a regional leader, Tsai’s evaluations of her political speeches on cross-strait relations may motivate the vast audiences to align their ideological position with hers. A linguistic examination could help to disclose her intention. 5.3 Appreciation Appreciation is about people’s evaluations of “things”, especially things they make and performances they give, but also includes natural phenomena (Martin and White, 2008). Apart from concrete things, appreciation also covers evaluations of abstract things such as relationships and qualities of life. There is negative appreciation and positive appreciation. Three subsystems of appreciation are divided, including reaction, composition, and valuation. In Tsai’s political speeches on cross-strait relations, the attitudinal resources of appreciation take up a large proportion. The following table shows the statistical result of the resources of appreciation. Table 5.4 Distribution of Appreciation in Tsai’s Political Speeches on Cross-Straits Relations Number Frequency Total Appreciation Reaction Composition Valuation Case 1 12.5% 12.5% 75% (-12.5%) 100% Case 2 5.3% 26.3% (-10.5%) 68.4% (-21.1%) 100% Case 3 16.7% -33.3% -50% 100% Case 4 0 0 100% (-33.3%) 100% Case 5 8.3% 41.7% (-16.7%) 50% (-16.7%) 100% Case 6 0 45.5% 54.5% (-27.3%) 100% Case 7 -20% -10% 70% (-30%) 100% Case 8 -13% 26.1% (-17.4%) 60.9% (-43.5%) 100% www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 166 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Case 9 -8.3% 33.3% 58.3% (-33.3%) 100% From Table 5.4, it can be learned that the resources of valuation are greater than those of composition and reaction, and negative valuation accounts for a certain number. The appraised things in Tsai’s political speeches on cross-strait relations, mainly including the current situation and the future of cross-strait relationships, cross-strait policies put forward by the mainland and her government, the positions of the two governments on both sides of the strait, and the pressure from the mainland, Generally, Tsai gave negative evaluations, mainly invoked, to the policies and stance of the mainland authorities, implying that the side of the mainland brought huge pressure and attempted to change Taiwan. On the contrary, she used many positive expressions to evaluate her cross-border policies, like “Maintaining the Status Quo” and “Four Musts”. Tsai also expressed her negative attitudes toward cross-strait relations. In the following part, examples will be given to examine the attitudinal resources Tsai expressed and the way she utilized them to indicate her ideology and to motivate the audience to align with her ideology. Examples 5.10: Examples of reactions Case 1: 两岸的两个执政党应该要放下历史包袱，展开良性对话，造福两岸人民。 (The two ruling parties on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should put aside historical burdens and launch a benign dialogue to bring benefit to the people on both sides of the strait.) Case 2: 我也呼吁，两岸的两个执政党应该要放下历史包袱，展开良性对话，造福两岸人民。 (I also appeal that the two ruling parties on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should put down the historical burdens and launch a benign dialogue to bring benefit to the people on both sides of the Straits.) Reaction is concerned with people’s affection for things— “do they catch our attention; do they please us” (Martin and White, 2008). In the above two cases, Tsai suggested that the ruling parties of Taiwan and the mainland should carry out dialogues whose nature is “benign”. The word “Benign” showed that the dialogue would be beneficial to both sides, thus Tsai’s positive affection towards the dialogue and communication between the two sides of the strait was explicitly expressed. The positive reaction may help build a positive image of Tsai Ing-wen seeking benign interaction with the mainland. Case 7: 这段时间以来，中国单方面的文攻武吓和外交打压，不但伤害了两岸关系，更严重挑战 了台海和平稳定的现状。 (Over this period, China’s one-way literary attack and military threat as well as diplomatic repression not only harmed cross-strait relations but also seriously challenged the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.) Tsai said in Case 7 that China had taken different measures to repress Taiwan. These actions, as she described them, were “ (literary attack and military threat)文攻武吓” and “外交打压 (diplomatic repression)”. From these expressions, we discover that Tsai verbally formed an insecure image of www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 167 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Taiwan. She mentioned that the actions that the mainland had taken were “单方面的 (one-way)”, which indicated that the mainland did not care about the feelings of Taiwanese people and ignored the peaceful and steady cross-strait situation. Tsai used this expression to show her negative reaction to the “repression” of the mainland, which implied her dissatisfaction and condemnation of the mainland. All in all, an insecure image of Taiwan and a negative, threatening image of the mainland were shaped via the inscribed attitudinal lexis “one-way”. Examples 5.11: Examples of composition Case 3: 我们也本于尊重历史及求同存异的精神，向对岸持续释出善意，期盼透过双方良性互动， 逐步化解对立和分歧。 (We have also continuously released goodwill to the other side of the Taiwan Strait in the spirit of respecting history and seeking common ground while reserving differences, looking forward to gradually resolving confrontation and divergence through benign interaction between us.) Composition is related to balance (did it hang together) and complexity (was it hard to follow) and can be classified into the negative group and the positive group. Negative composition signifies that things being appraised may be unbalanced, contradictory, arcane, etc. The appraised items include concrete and abstract things. In the above Case 3, selected from the Double-Ten Speech delivered in 2017, Tsai evaluated the abstract relationships between the two sides of the strait. She said that she hoped to resolve the “对立 (confrontation)” and “分歧 (divergence)” between the two sides through benign interaction. Tsai considered cross-Strait relationships as opposed, with great conflicts and differences. Such relationships were discordant, which reflected Tsai’s negative composition. Case 5: 30 年来，两岸从敌对走向和平发展，为两岸关系写下了历史新页。 (Over the past 30 years, the two sides have moved from hostility to peaceful development, which has written a new page on history for cross-strait relations.) As mentioned earlier, appreciation covers the evaluation of relationships. In Case 5, Tsai described the changing of cross-strait relationships from “敌对 (hostility)” to “和平 (peaceful)”. Cross-Strait relations over the past 30 years have moved towards the positive side, as Tsai expressed. The “hostility” relationship showed that the two sides were not in a harmonious condition, which signifies a negative composition. While the “peaceful” development indicated the relationship between the two sides was harmonious. Changing from negative composition to positive composition, Tsai not only expressed her positive evaluation of cross-strait development but also implied that her government contributed to peaceful relationships. Case 8: 我们不反对两岸正常的互动，我们更不反对两岸之间的城市交流。不过，两岸之间的交 流要健康、要正常，不能靠模糊的政治前提。 (We do not oppose the normal interaction between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. We are even less opposed to urban exchanges between the two sides. However, if the interaction between the two sides should be healthy and normal, it cannot rely on vague political preconditions.) www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 168 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Concerning negative composition, it covers the evaluations of things that are unbalanced, contradictory, unclear, woolly, etc. In the above Case 8, Tsai referred to the foundation of cross-strategic interaction. As she said, she did not oppose communication between the two sides of the strait; however, cross-strait relations should be normal and healthy, which could not rely on a “模糊的 (vague)” political premise. In other words, Tsai did not believe the present political premise of both sides was clear enough to make for normal and healthy exchanges. The attitudinal lexis “vague” shows the negative composition of Tsai Ing-wen towards the political premise. However, Tsai did not point out directly what the “clear” political premise was. She later demanded in the speech from which this case was selected that mainland China should face up to the existence of the Republic of China-Taiwan, thus indicating that the clear political premise was her ideology of Taiwan independence. By using the attitudinal expression “vague”, she could project a negative evaluation of the current political ideology of the mainland and further put forward her ideology. Examples 5.12: Examples of valuation Case 2: 我也呼吁，两岸的两个执政党应该要放下历史包袱，展开良性对话，造福两岸人民。 (I also appeal that the two ruling parties on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should put down the historical burdens and launch a benign dialogue to bring benefit to the people on both sides of the Straits.) Valuation is related to the “value” of things—how innovative, authentic, timely, etc., they are (Martin and White, 2008). Like other attitudinal resources, valuation can be negative or positive, and it can be inscribed or invoked by different strategies. In Case 2 above, Tsai called on the two parties on both sides of the strait to make benign exchanges and put aside “历史包袱 (historical burdens)”. The expression “historical burdens” was a metaphor, which, according to the speech, referred to the past divergence and disputes in political ideology between the two sides. As Tsai expressed, the past cross-strait situation was a burden, which was not a good thing and embodied her negative evaluation. This evaluation was invoked by the lexical metaphor of “historical burdens”, i.e., by the strategy of the flag. Tsai, therefore, to some extent denied the past performance of cross-strait relations in an implicit way. Case 6-1: 要维持区域的和平与繁荣，两岸关系是一个重要的关键。 (Cross-strait relations are an important key to maintaining regional peace and prosperity.) The evaluation of things as valuable and worthwhile is a positive valuation. In the above Case 6-1, Tsai held that cross-strait relations were of great value to maintain peace and stability in the region, which was an “重要的 (important)” key. The attitudinal lexis “important” could draw the audience to focus on the importance of cross-strait relations and the way Tsai handled cross-strait relations. Subsequently, in the speech, Tsai reiterated her attitude towards dealing with cross-strait relations, i.e., “maintaining the status quo”, and we will discuss her evaluation of this viewpoint in the following case. Case 6-2: 维持现状是我们不变的立场，也是台湾向区域、向世界做出的有效承诺。 (Maintaining the status quo is our unchanging position and an effective commitment Taiwan has made www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 169 Published by SCHOLINK INC. to the region and the world.) Tsai illustrated in the above that “维持现状 (maintaining the status quo)” was her constant position as well as an “有效的 (effective)” commitment. “Effective” is an attitudinal lexis showing Tsai’s positive valuation of “maintaining the status quo”. Tsai mentioned “maintaining the status quo” several times in her political speeches. By giving a positive evaluation of her position, she reinforced her advocacy, or in reality, some kind of cross-strait policy of “maintaining the status quo” and motivated the audiences to focus on her “policy”. Case 9-1: 绝大多数台湾民意也坚决反对 “一国两制”。 (The vast majority of public opinion in Taiwan is also resolutely opposed to “One country, Two systems”.) Case 9-2: “四个必须”正是两岸关系能否朝向正面发展，最基本、也最关键的基础。 (The “Four Musts” are the most basic and crucial basis for cross-strait relations to develop in a positive direction.) We would like to analyze the above two cases, Case 9-1 and Case 9-2, together because both cases were selected from the same speech and showed Tsai evaluations on two cross-strait policies. One was put forward by the mainland, and the other was put forward by Tsai’s government. In Case 9-1, Tsai claimed that the majority of Taiwanese people were “坚决反对 (resolutely opposed to)” the cross-strait policy of “一国两制 (One country, Two systems)” . She did not directly speak ill of the “One country, Two systems” policy. However, reading from the experiential information of the expressions of resolute opposition from the Taiwanese public, it can be inferred that Tsai indicated her negative valuation of the policy. She used the strategy of afford to imply her ideology. Shifting our focus to Case 9-2, it is clear that Tsai expressed her positive valuation explicitly. She mentioned that “四个必须 (Four Musts)” , which referred to her policy that the mainland must face the facts of the existence of the Republic of China-Taiwan, respect the adherence of the 23 million people to freedom and democracy, deal with the divergence between us in a peaceful and equal way, and sit down and talk by the government or the public authority authorized by the government, was the “最基本 (most basic)” and “最关键 (most crucial)” basis for constructing positive cross-strait relations. Tsai spoke highly of the policy of “Four Musts”, which may motivate audiences to align with her. Comparing her attitudes towards the “One Country, Two Systems” policy and the “Four Musts” policy, it can be found that Tsai expressed a negative evaluation on the side of the mainland via the implicit strategy of afford, while expressing a positive evaluation of her side explicitly. Tsai employing the two strategies may motivate the audiences to synchronize with her ideological position of reinforcing the positive evaluations of her cross-strait policy and devaluing the policy put forward by the mainland. In the above part, we mainly conduct a qualitative analysis to examine Tsai’s nine political speeches on cross-strait relations with specific examples and statistical analysis. Language is a place to represent social inequality (Ding, 2016), and we can see the unequal attitude of Tsai towards mainland China. Based on the Attitude System, Tsai’s ideological positions towards the side of the mainland and her side www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 5, No. 4, 2023 170 Published by SCHOLINK INC. are revealed. Based on Martin’s Attitude System, Tsai’s ideological positions towards the side of the mainland and her side are revealed. Regarding the features of attitudinal resources, we find that Tsai, in her political speeches on cross-strait relations, employed different attitudinal strategies, including invoked (or implicit) and inscribed (or explicit) strategies, to express her evaluations of her side and the mainland. She also appraised cross-strait relations and policies. As to the functions of these attitudinal resources, generally, Tsai used more positive attitudinal resources of judgement and appreciation to build a positive image for herself and her authorities, while projecting negative evaluations onto mainland China and its authorities via an invoked attitude. Specifically, by classifying the appraised, it is found that Tsai generally made negative evaluations implicitly towards the mainland, including its actions, positions, and cross-Strait policies. 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