The latest poll by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center showed a record-high 31.2 percent of respondents support the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), a significant increase from 19.5 percent in 2009.
The center has been conducting the survey on people’s “core political attitudes” since 1992, tracking the trends in people’s stance toward independence or unification, their national identification and party preference.
As of December last year, 31.2 percent of the 9,870 people surveyed said they support the DPP, according to the survey results, which were published on Wednesday.
Support for the DPP has been steadily increasing since 2009 (19.3 percent reaching 24.6 percent in 2010, 24.9 percent in 2011, 25.7 percent in 2012 and 26.7 percent in 2013 and 2014).
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had 22.1 percent of public support, its lowest support rating in the past 10 years. Support for the KMT has steadily declined since 2011, when it garnered a record-high 39.5 percent of public support.
The poll found that 59.5 percent of respondents identified as Taiwanese — slightly lower than the record-high 60.6 percent in 2014.
The poll also found that 33.3 percent of respondents identified themselves as both Taiwanese and Chinese, increasing slightly from the 32.5 percent in 2014. Those identifying as solely Chinese dropped to a historical low of 3.3 percent.
With regard to Taiwanese independence, 22.2 percent of respondents said they support independence — either by moving toward it while maintaining the “status quo” (17.9 percent) or favoring a declaration of independence as soon as possible (4.3 percent) — which was lower than the 23.9 percent in 2014.
The number of people who support unification with China — either by moving toward it while maintaining the “status quo” (8.1 percent) or hoping for unification as soon as possible (1.5 percent) — saw a slight uptick from the historical low of 9.2 percent in 2014 to 9.6 percent.
The poll found that 25.4 percent of respondents want the “status quo” to be maintained indefinitely.
DDP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) unpopular and pro-China policies have made Taiwanese identity stronger than ever, while at the same time sending Chinese identity to a new low.
Lee said that with president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) takeover approaching, it remains to be seen whether China is going to continue to intimidate the new administration and obstruct Taiwan’s participation in international affairs. If it does, the gap between the number of people identifying themselves as Taiwanese and Chinese would continue to grow, Lee said.
He also said that the record-high support for the DPP should be appreciated “with vigilance and fear,” as the public would soon turn its back on the party if it fails to live up to its policy promises.
Additional Reporting by Tseng Wei-chen
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
RSS