The result of a recent poll that was conducted by the US-based Gallup Organization showed that more than 60 percent of the interviewees in five countries see Taiwan as a sovereign country, and also that most people view it more favorably than China.
The Government Information Office (GIO) commissioned Gallup to study the country's image among opinion leaders and the general public in the US, Japan, France, Germany and the UK.
The result of the study showed that Japanese favor Taiwan over China by a margin of almost two to one, slightly more than the gap recorded for Americans.
The result also showed that the three European countries also favor Taiwan over its rival, but did not give specifics.
The survey showed that the strongest impressions for most interviewees in all five countries about Taiwan were of the country's advanced technology, its strong economy, "delicious" food and natural attractions.
As for the strongest impression about Taiwanese people, most interviewees felt that Taiwanese people were hard-working, friendly as well as peace-loving.
Taiwan has been trying for years to regain admission to the UN, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international organizations, but Chinese pressure has convinced most countries not to support it.
Still, the survey showed that the majority of interviewees supported Taiwan's application to the UN, while more than 72 percent supported Taiwan's joining the WHO.
The Gallup survey, which has a margin of error of 3 percent, was conducted by telephone in May and June. Pollsters interviewed 1,500 adults from the general public and 200 opinion leaders in each of the five countries.
"The government should reflect how to translate these positive attitudes toward Taiwan into action," said Lo Chih-cheng (
"It is a sign that China's campaign to undermine the country's legitimacy is not working at all," said GIO Minister Pasuya Yao (
"The study also showed us that more than 60 percent of the respondents in the five countries see Taiwan and China as two separate sovereign countries," he said.
Taiwanese academics said that the survey's results make it imperative for the government to develop a concrete strategy to take advantage of the support it enjoys.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it is building nine new advanced wafer manufacturing and packaging factories this year, accelerating its expansion amid strong demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The chipmaker built on average five factories per year from 2021 to last year and three from 2017 to 2020, TSMC vice president of advanced technology and mask engineering T.S. Chang (張宗生) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “We are quickening our pace even faster in 2025. We plan to build nine new factories, including eight wafer fabrication plants and one advanced
RSS