More than 70 percent of Taiwanese reject China’s insistence that “the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China” as a political prerequisite for the development of cross-strait relations, a poll released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) showed.
The poll showed that 73.4 percent of respondents do not recognize Beijing’s adherence to the “one China” principle as a political precondition and consider it an effort to treat Taiwan as a local government.
Meanwhile, 83.9 percent thought that China’s ongoing efforts to limit Taiwan’s international space have undermined the rights and interests of Taiwanese, and 80.5 percent said that China should recognize the existence of the “Republic of China,” according to the poll.
It also showed that 89.4 percent of respondents support the government’s proposal that the two sides should respect each other and settle disagreements through dialogue, while 80.9 percent are in favor of maintaining a peaceful and stable “status quo.”
When asked about the speed of development of cross-strait exchanges, 31.3 percent said it was just right, while 6.7 percent believe it is too fast and 45 percent too slow, the poll showed.
At the same time, 85.9 percent said they support the government’s view that China should respect the nation’s democratic system and public opinion in fostering cross-strait relations, while 86.2 percent said that Taiwan and China should promote positive interactions and exchanges that seek to optimize benefits for both sides.
Regarding China’s detention of Taiwanese human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲), 68.1 percent said that China’s failure to provide evidence, inform the government of developments and allow family visitations have undermined the human rights of Taiwanese.
Lee went missing after entering China via Macao on March 19 and was later confirmed to have been detained by the Chinese authorities on charges of “subversion of state power.”
The survey, conducted from Friday last week to Tuesday by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center and commissioned by the MAC, collected 1,076 valid questionnaires by telephone and has a margin of error of 2.99 percentage points.
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