More than 90 percent of Taiwanese support the government’s policy of maintaining the “status quo” of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, according to an opinion poll published by the Mainland Affairs Council on Wednesday.
The public opinion survey on President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) inaugural speech and cross-strait issues showed 92.8 percent support for the government’s stance of safeguarding existing peace and stability between Taiwan and China.
The survey also found that 74.4 percent of people agree with Tsai’s position that cross-strait affairs should be managed on the basis of the Republic of China Constitution, the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), and other laws.
Meanwhile, 74.6 percent of people support Tsai’s statement that she respects the historical fact of a 1992 meeting between Taiwan and China during which they reached a common understanding, according to the poll.
It showed that 85 percent of people think both sides should maintain the current exchange mechanism for communication and dialogue.
Nearly 91 percent said the government should pursue cross-strait relations based on the principles of democracy and the will of the people, according to the poll.
It found that 83.4 percent of Taiwanese would like to see the enactment of a law specifically to govern cross-strait agreements, while nearly 80 percent think that negotiations on a stalled cross-strait trade-in-goods service agreement should be held under the terms of such a bill.
More than 80 percent of people also said they would like to see Taiwan and China discussing joint participation in regional development and seek all means of cooperation, the poll showed.
Nearly 80 percent of people think Taiwan’s international space should not be affected by changes in cross-strait relations, the survey showed.
The survey, commissioned by the ministry, was conducted by Taiwan Real Survey Co from Thursday to Saturday last week. It collected 1,084 valid samples and had a margin of error of 2.98 percentage points.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it