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.
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
Snow this morning fell on Alishan for the first time in seven years, as a strong continental cold air mass sent temperatures plunging across Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The Alishan weather station, located at an elevation of about 2,200m in central Taiwan, recorded snowfall from 8:55am to 9:15am, when the temperature dropped to about 1°C, the CWA said. With increased moisture and low temperatures in the high-altitude Alishan area, the conditions were favorable for snow, CWA forecaster Tsai Yi-chi (蔡伊其) said. The last time snow fell at the Alishan weather station was on Jan. 10, 2018, while graupel fell there
RSS