Sixty-three percent of the public opposes the idea of the pan-blue dominated legislature directing the country's cross-strait policy, according to a recent survey.
The survey, conducted by the Taiwan Thinktank, was aimed at finding out the public's views on the People First Party-sponsored "cross-strait peace advancement bill," which the pan-blue camp plans to pass into law tomorrow using its legislative majority.
The bill would shift control over cross-strait policy formulation from the executive to legislative branch, by forming a "peace committee" to replace the current Mainland Affairs Council and Straits Exchange Foundation.
"[The survey] sends a very strong message to the pan-blue camp that the cross-strait peace advancement bill should not be passed," said Chen Ming-tung (陳明通), a professor in the Graduate Institute of National Development at National Taiwan University and the former vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).
Dissatisfaction
The survey showed that 50.9 percent of the public are unhappy with the legislature's performance on cross-strait issues.
When asked to choose who they think would best represent the country's interests in negotiating with the Chinese government, 40.2 percent favored the President while 32.5 percent favored the legislature.
According to the survey, the public is evenly divided over which political camp -- the pan- blues or pan-greens -- would be the best cross-strait policy maker, with support for each running at 40 percent. However, the survey showed that 63 percent of the public doesn't think that the pan-blue camp should override the government's cross-strait policy through the legislature, on the grounds that such a development would result in political confrontation and social division.
The survey also showed that a solid 60.5 percent of the public oppose the legislation of a "one-China policy" which would be written into law if the pan-blue camp's bill is passed.
"Since it's about half-and-half in terms of the support rate for the pan-green and pan-blue camp, some pan-blue supporters are against a bill embracing a `one-China' policy," Chen said.
The survey also showed that not all pan-blue camp supporters back the idea of the legislature taking the lead role in making cross-strait policy instead of the executive.
Ignorance
According to the survey, about 55.6 percent of the public know nothing about the bill.
Given that a majority of the public has little understanding about the bill, it's not the right time for the legislature to review it, said MAC Vice Chairman Huang Wei-Feng (
The survey was conducted from Oct. 7 to Oct. 8 through a telephone survey of Taiwanese adults over the age of 20. A total of 1,130 valid samples were collected. The survey's margin of error was just under 3 percent.
also see story:
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique