An opinion poll released yesterday showed that former premier Frank Hsieh’s (謝長廷) initiative of “two constitutions, different interpretations (憲法各表)” has stronger support than the so-called “1992 consensus” advocated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Beijing.
While 57.9 percent of the respondents said they supported Hsieh’s proposal, 45.4 percent of those polled supported the “1992 consensus,” Harbor Cities Exchange Foundation executive director Chan Chao-tsung (詹昭聰) said at a press conference in Taipei.
Hsieh’s proposal has bipartisan support, winning recognition from 60.9 percent of those who identified as pan-green supporters and 70.9 percent of pan-blue supporters.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“The results show that [Hsieh’s initiative] has the potential to become the consensus of the Taiwanese people,” said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟), who is close to Hsieh, adding that the initiative could become “version 2.0 of Taiwan’s China policy.”
The poll found that 61 percent of respondents supported Hsieh’s proposal becoming the DPP’s formal China policy, including 84.9 percent of pan-green supporters.
Chao said “two constitutions, different interpretations” was favored over the 1992 consensus, which was relatively unpopular among the 20 to 39 age group and in the south, because of its pragmatism and was seen as being better than the DPP’s past proposal of “name rectification and new constitution,” which many dubbed as provocative.
The poll, conducted between Thursday last week and Sunday, collected 1,071 valid samples and had a margin of error of 3.01 percentage points.
Decreasing support rates for the 1992 consensus showed the public’s disappointment with and suspicion of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) cross-strait policies, National Sun Yat-sen University professor Lin Wen-cheng (林文程) said.
“Ma should take note of his disconnection from mainstream public opinion,” Lin said.
Responding to the survey, Hsieh said at a separate setting yesterday that he was glad the initiative has won majority support.
“I’ve been criticized a lot over the initiative, but the results show that it has the support of 61 percent of Taiwanese, with Washington viewing it acceptable and Beijing seeing it as tolerable,” Hsieh said.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
RSS