Tue, Jun 06, 2017 page3

• ‘Status quo,’ not independence clause, poll finds

  • By Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter
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  About half of the respondents of an opinion poll said the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should replace the Taiwan independence clause in its charter with a new clause based on maintaining the “status quo” in cross-strait relations, while most respondents said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has failed to keep her promise to maintain the “status quo.”

  The poll, released yesterday by Chinese-language Web site My-formosa.com, asked if the DPP should make Tsai’s cross-strait policy of maintaining the “status quo” a new clause in the DPP’s party charter, with 48.2 percent of respondents in favor and 26 percent against the idea.

  Support for a “status quo clause” is even stronger among those identify as DPP supporters, as 56.1 percent of such respondents backed such a clause, while 27 percent did not.

  Asked if the DPP should replace its independence clause with the “status quo clause,” 53 percent of the respondents agreed, and 28 percent disagreed.

  The “status quo clause” would be a friendly gesture to Beijing, according to 58.8 percent of respondents, while 23.4 percent disagreed.

  However, 25.2 percent said Tsai had kept her promise to maintain the “status quo,” 31.2 percent said she had not and 23.5 percent felt it had been partially kept.

  Asked if Tsai was a supporter of Taiwanese independence, 32.9 percent of the respondents said she was, 15.9 percent said she is inclined to keep the “status quo” permanently, 7.5 percent felt she would keep the “status quo” for future independence and 14 percent said she would keep it for a discussion of independence.

  Asked if Taipei and Beijing should negotiate the establishment of common political ground on which cross-strait interactions should be based, 75.4 percent of the respondents said yes and 15 percent said it was not necessary.

  Taipei and Beijing both need to adjust their policies to seek common political ground and improved relations, according to 63.7 percent of respondents, while 10.7 percent said Tsai’s government alone should make adjustments and 10.9 percent said just Beijing should make adjustments.

  Tsai’s performance failed to satisfy 66.5 percent of respondents and 25.5 percent said they were satisfied with her, while 51 percent said they did not trust her, although 36.5 percent said they did.

  Asked about the DPP, 34 percent said they had a positive impression of the party, but 47.5 percent said they had a negative opinion; 28.2 percent said they liked the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), but 47.9 percent disliked it.

  The poll shows that public has become impatient with the cross-strait standstill and expects Tsai to seek breakthroughs by initiating negotiation with China, DPP Legislator Julian Kuo (郭正亮) said.

  The notion of a “status quo clause” is approved by many DPP supporters and voters aged between 20 and 29, so Tsai might consider pushing for such a clause as a basis for cross-strait development, Kuo said.

  DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said the support for the “status quo clause” suggests public approval of Tsai’s China policy.

  “The Resolution on Taiwan’s Future in the DPP charter [which demands that any changes to Taiwan’s ‘status quo’ should be made by a public referendum] is to keep the ‘status quo,’ so the suggestion should be out of the question,” Lo said.

  The poll was conducted on May 24 and May 25 and collected 1,073 valid samples. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points and a confidence level of 95 percent.
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