The majority of Taiwanese favor independence over unification and identify strongly with the name “Republic of China (ROC),” as well as with the national flag, but are less receptive to the national anthem, a recent public opinion poll conducted by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) showed.
Online news site Newtalk obtained and published the results of the survey — which were not released to the public — on Sunday.
The survey asked respondents about their feelings toward national symbols and their views on independence and unification.
Asked about the country’s name, 67.5 percent of respondents said the ROC represents the nation appropriately, while 25.1 percent disagreed.
The poll also found that 55.1 percent of those surveyed would choose “Taiwan” over “the ROC,” with 39.5 percent favoring the latter. Only respondents who said they were pan-blue favored “the ROC.”
The national flag won the most support among the three national symbols in the survey, garnering the approval of 76.9 percent of respondents, including 65.1 percent of pan-green supporters.
At the other end of the spectrum was the national anthem, which, with only 53.1 percent of those polled deeming it appropriate, was the least approved of symbol.
Support for independence was strong at 60.2 percent, considerably higher than the support rate for unification (23.4 percent) and maintaining the “status quo” (8.7 percent), according to the poll.
Questions about ethnic identity produced lopsided results, with 78.1 percent of those polled saying they are Taiwanese, 12.3 percent identifying themselves as Chinese and 6.1 percent saying they are both. Among pan-blue supporters, 65.2 percent labeled themselves Taiwanese, the results showed.
National Taipei Medical University professor Chang Kuo-cheng (張國城) said the results were influenced by China’s attitude toward Taiwan.
“The public has seen Beijing disallow Taiwan’s national flag from appearing at international events many times, which is why the support rate for the national flag was high in the poll. On the other hand, the national anthem is considered somewhat outdated,” he said.
The DPP’s New Taipei City (新北市) Chapter director Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that the strong support for ROC national symbols reflected Taiwanese’s “reluctant compromise to political reality.”
“People may dislike the current ROC system, but they have to accept reality. I said it is a reluctant compromise because when people were given a choice, 55.1 percent of those polled preferred ‘Taiwan’ as the country’s name,” Lo said.
The respondents’ weak sense of identification with the national anthem may have to do with the first verse: “The three principles of the people are the foundation of our party,” Lo said, adding that many feel that referring to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in the anthem is unacceptable and inappropriate.
Lo said he was surprised that support for maintaining the “status quo” was low because past polls showed the opposite.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) cross-strait policy “may have increased the public’s fear that unification is inevitable if his policies are sustained,” Lo said.
The DPP survey was conducted from Nov. 19 to Nov. 21 and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points, the Newtalk report said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source