An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese believe Taiwan is a sovereign and independent nation, the results of a poll released yesterday by the Taiwan Brain Trust think tank showed, with 75.8 percent of respondents supporting the sentiment, while 18.9 percent disagreed.
On the issue of Taiwan’s status as a nation, the poll showed that 79.8 percent of respondents said that it is “definitely” or “probably” a sovereign nation, while only 18.9 percent said that either it is “definitely not” or “probably not” a sovereign nation.
The answers indicated that most Taiwanese disagree with a recent statement by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson An Fengshan (安峰山), who said that “Taiwan has never been a nation.”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Regarding President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policies on cross-strait relations, the poll showed that 49.4 percent of respondents support her, while 25.5 percent do not.
However, 79.8 percent of respondents said that Taiwan should maintain the “status quo” in regard to its relationship with China.
The poll found that 39.6 percent of respondents do not think it is necessary for Taiwan to acknowledge the so-called “1992 consensus” as a prerequisite for developing relations with China, while 31.3 percent feel that recognition of the “1992 consensus” is necessary.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
In response to the question of what Taiwan should do if the “status quo” cannot be maintained, 60.5 percent of respondents said they would support independence, while 22.4 percent said they would support unification with China.
The numbers showed a significant shift from last year’s 70.9 percent and 22.4 percent respectively.
A cross-analysis of the poll showed that among those respondents in favor of independence, 87.4 said they support the New Power Party (NPP), 83.1 percent the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), 50.3 percent the People First Party (PFP) and 35.3 percent the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Among those respondents who support unification with China, 47.6 percent support the KMT, 34.3 percent the PFP, 10.5 percent the DPP and 6.5 percent the NPP.
The think tank said the telephone survey was conducted between 6:30pm and 10pm on Oct. 13 among randomly selected respondents aged 20 or older.
The think tank said it collected 1,079 valid samples, adding that the poll has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
This was the first public opinion survey conducted by the think tank since its operations in August were handed over to the Ketagalan Foundation, an organization operated by supporters of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
RSS