There is little fear among Taiwanese of war with China, but the Taiwanese public has somewhat negative feelings toward the Chinese government and its people, a survey published yesterday showed.
On a scale of one to 10, where one means there is no risk whatsoever and 10 stands for extreme likelihood of war, the average response was 3.2, according to the survey, which was conducted by the Chinese-language United Daily News.
However, 54 percent of the respondents had a negative impression of the Chinese government, describing it as “authoritarian” and “corrupt,” while 33 percent had a good impression, calling it “efficient” and “friendly.”
At the same time, 47 percent had unfavorable views about Chinese people, saying they were “uncultured” and “calculating.” Among the 38 percent who liked Chinese, the reasons cited included that they were “warm” and “diligent.”
The survey comes more than two years after Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) assumed the presidency in 2008, promising a better economy through closer ties with China.
While relations have seemingly improved under Ma, Beijing still maintains that Taiwan is part of China and that unification must eventually take place, even if it means war.
The United Daily News carried out the interviews from Aug. 20 to Aug. 26, obtaining replies from 1,001 respondents via telephone.
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