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DPP says polls are showing support for Chen's comments

President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) statement that "there is one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait" reflects the nation's mainstream opinion and should be taken into account by Beijing and opposition politicians, a DPP official said.

Executive-Director of the DPP's Policy Research and Coordinating Committee Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) made the comments yesterday, citing polls released following Chen's remarks, which have provoked outcry both at home and abroad.

A survey conducted by the party's policy center on Monday and Tuesday indicates 63.8 percent of the respondents approved of Chen's remarks, whereas 28.3 percent disapproved.

Showing a similar result, a survey conducted on Sunday by the TVBS cable channel indicates that 54 percent of respondents approved of Chen's statement that Taiwan and China are two different nations.

"The results of the two polls prove the president's statement is in line with the views of the country. As a ruling party, the DPP cannot act in violation of the people's will," Lin said.

In his strongest comments on cross-strait affairs since he took office in 2000, the president told a meeting of the World Federation of Taiwanese Association in Tokyo on Saturday that there is "one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait" and that Taiwan should seriously consider passing legislation to prepare for a referendum to protect the country's sovereignty.

Both the opposition camp and Beijing have said Chen's remarks would lead Taiwan to disaster.

Lin said the results of the polls show that the DPP stands behind the people's will, and urged the opposition parties and Beijing to take this into consideration.

The questions in the DPP's survey were based on the party's 1999 resolution regarding Taiwan's future.

Considered the party's primary guideline when dealing with cross-strait issues, the resolution declares that Taiwan is an independent sovereign state whose name is the Republic of China. Any changes regarding this status quo must be collectively determined by all people in Taiwan.

The party's poll showed 65.3 of respondents agree with the statement, whereas 25.7 disagree.

Party officials said that the result shows that the resolution has solid public support and legitimacy.

The poll, with a sample size of 1,154, was conducted through telephone interviews of people aged 20 and above. The survey's margin of error falls between plus and minus 2.9 percent.
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