Japan remained the favorite country for Taiwanese last year, with half of a polled sample optimistic about future ties with Japan, a survey commissioned by the Interchange Association, Japan showed.
Forty-three percent of people in Taiwan preferred Japan over any other country or region in the world last year, up 2 percent from 2011, according to the survey.
The US, China and Singapore each picked up 7 percent of the vote.
Japan was the favorite country among Taiwanese in 2008, 2009 and 2011, according to the association’s surveys conducted in those years. The association did not conduct a similar poll in 2010.
In addition, Japan remained the top pick among Taiwanese looking to travel abroad last year, leading to a repeat of the survey results from 2008, 2009 and 2011.
According to the survey last year, 38 percent preferred to travel to Japan, 34 percent to Europe, 9 percent to China, 6 percent to the US, 5 percent to Southeast Asia and 4 percent to South Korea.
Meanwhile, 50 percent of Taiwanese were hopeful about an improvement in ties with Japan last year, a 13 percent drop from the previous year.
People aged between 20 and 39 were the most optimistic group last year.
However, a significant fall was seen last year in the number of Taiwanese people who perceived two-way relations between Japan and Taiwan as good.
Thirty-three percent were positive about Taiwan’s current relationship with Japan last year, down 20 percent from 2011, the survey showed. People under 40 were the most positive group.
Commissioned by the association, market researcher Nielsen conducted the survey from Jan. 11 to Jan. 27 via the Internet and computer-assisted telephone interviews.
The survey collected 1,000 samples and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS