The New Party yesterday released a poll on the South China Sea issue which found that nearly 70 percent of respondents felt “betrayed by great powers” over the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague’s ruling that all high-tide features in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), including Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島), are legally “rocks.”
The poll — which the party commissioned a polling company to conduct on Thursday and Friday last week — showed that 68 percent of respondents either knew nothing about or refused to comment on the statement: “Under international recognition, the Republic of China (ROC) government has made territorial claims over South China Sea islands and surrounding waters, which is also called the ‘11-dash line’ or ‘U-shaped line,’ and has sovereignty over Taiping Island.”
However, New Party national committee adviser Lee Sheng-feng (李勝峰) said 78.2 percent of the respondents knew about the international court’s ruling and 44.9 percent agreed with the statement that “the US is secretly supporting or controlling [the Philippines]” and Washington persuaded Manila to file the case against Beijing’s South China Sea claims.
He said the most interesting result was that 69.7 percent of respondents felt “betrayed by great powers” — meaning the US and Japan — over the court’s ruling, adding that Tokyo usually follows Washington’s lead in policy decisions.
Lee said the poll also showed 35.6 percent of respondents think the government cares most about “not offending the US,” while only 29 percent said it was interested in “defending sovereignty.”
Of those polled, 51.6 percent said that the government would be unable to provide sufficient protection to Taiwanese fishermen if the Philippines, Vietnam or other nations used the court’s ruling to threaten their rights, lives or property, while 38.6 percent said it was acceptable if Taiwanese fishermen in trouble in the South China Sea received assistance from China and 36.4 percent said they would find it difficult to accept, but it was understandable if Taiwanese fishermen were forced into such a situation.
“President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration should squarely face the South China Sea issue,” Lee said. “We always thought that the enemy was across the Taiwan Strait, but now we have discovered that the nations hurting our sovereignty might well be the Philippines and Vietnam.”
“The poll highlighted another question, and that is whether choosing the US or China is better for Taiwan,” he said, adding that the Tsai administration should make a clear decision between a pro-US stance or a pro-China stance.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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