Tue, Apr 30, 2013 page3

• Public split on ‘one China’ phrase: poll

  BONDING FACTORS: A majority of respondents agreed that Taiwan and China shared a common blood relationship, language and text, history and culture and religions

  • By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
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  A public opinion poll published yesterday showed that a majority of respondents view the current state of relations across the Taiwan Strait as a state-to-state relationship, but that a new nation formed by Taiwan and China in the future was also acceptable.

  The survey, conducted by Taiwan Indicator Survey Research (TISR) focused on cross-strait relations and found that 56.2 percent of respondents described current Taiwan-China relations as state-to-state, while 26.4 percent disagreed and 17.4 percent declined to answer.

  The support rate for the state-to-state description rose to 76.2 percent among the 20-to-29 age group, and was higher than average among the younger and more highly educated respondents, TISR general manager Tai Li-an (戴立安) said in a press release.

  In a multiple-choice question about the differences between Taiwan and China, most respondents agreed that social values and political systems on the two sides of the Strait were very different, with only 17.6 percent of those polled saying that both sides share similar social values, and 11.2 percent observing similarity in ideology and systems.

  A majority of respondents agreed that both sides share a common blood relationship (71 percent), language and text (68.6 percent), history and culture (65.4 percent) and religions (60.3 percent), the poll showed.

  However, responses were split on questions about the respondents’ interpretation and observation of “one China.”

  Asked whether they agreed that Taiwan and China are both part of “one China,” 39.1 percent said yes, while 48.1 percent disagreed and 12.8 percent did not answer.

  According to TISR, 60.3 percent of the respondents in the 20-to-29 age group disagreed that Taiwan is part of “one China” whatever that represents, about twice the number of respondents, or 30.2 percent, who supported the description.

  Asked which country represented China in the “one China” description, 30 percent said the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and 25.5 percent the Republic of China (ROC), while 19.4 percent chose “a country awaiting future negotiations by both sides,” while 25.4 percent did not give an answer.

  If Taiwan and China merged into a new country which is neither called the PRC nor the ROC, 41.2 percent of the respondents said they could accept the arrangement, while 34.2 percent were unsupportive of the idea.

  Further analysis found that 48 percent of those respondents who identified themselves as pan-green found the arrangement unacceptable, while 34.6 percent would accept it. More than half, or 56.5 percent, of pan-blue respondents said they would accept the development, while 34.2 percent found it unacceptable.

  Independent respondents were split with the arrangement, with 36.5 percent saying they would accept the new country and 28.9 percent saying they would be unsupportive.

  The support rate for “a new country” has increased by 5 percent from 36.1 percent to 41.2 percent compared with last year’s poll.
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