More than half of Taiwanese do not agree with the concept of a “constitutional one China” (憲法一中), while nearly one-quarter reject Beijing’s “one China” principle, a media survey showed.
The survey, commissioned by the Chinese-language online media outlet My Formosa, defined “constitutional one China” as: “According to the Constitution of the Republic of China, its amendments and relevant laws, the sovereign territory of our country is comprised of the Taiwan region and the Mainland region. Therefore the two sides across the Strait belong to the same country, which is the Republic of China.”
The poll showed that 8.9 percent of respondents “strongly agreed” with the statement, while 23.7 percent “somewhat agreed” — for a total of 32.6 percent.
However, 20.7 percent of respondents said they “somewhat disagreed” and 33.3 percent said they “strongly disagreed” with the definition — for a total of 54 percent — while 13.4 percent had no opinion.
A cross-analysis of the survey, which was conducted by opinion surveyor Tai Li-an (戴立安), showed that 52.4 percent of pan-blue supporters agreed with the Constitution’s definition.
The definition found little favor among pan-green supporters, with the rates of disapproval surpassing 60 percent among respondents aged 20 to 29, residents of Kaohsiung and Pingtung, and those with university degrees.
The survey asked about Beijing’s “one China” principle, defined as: “The Chinese government believes that the Republic of China was overthrown in 1949; consequently, the People’s Republic of China is the only China extant in the world, with Taiwan being part of China’s sovereign territory.”
According to the poll, 2.6 percent of respondents “strongly agreed,” while 11.6 percent said they “somewhat agreed” with Beijing’s “one China” principle, for a total of 14.2 percent.
However, 22.1 percent said they “somewhat disagreed” and 50.4 percent said they “strongly disagreed” with the principle, for a total of 72.5 percent.
Among Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supporters who answered the survey, 64.5 percent rejected Beijing’s “one China” policy.
The survey asked about the US’ “one China” policy, defined as: “The US government’s one China policy acknowledges the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate government representing China, without acknowledging Taiwan as a part of China and with the addendum that the Taiwan question must be settled peacefully.”
According to the poll, 17.5 percent of respondents “strongly agreed” and 43.8 percent “somewhat agreed” with the US’ policy, for a total of 61.3 percent.
Eleven percent of respondents “somewhat disagreed” and 13.6 percent “strongly disagreed” with the US’ position, for a total of 24.6 percent, while 14.1 percent had no opinion.
The poll was conducted via computer-assisted telephone interviews, with 1,076 valid samples and a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
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