More than half of the respondents to a poll last week said they do not like the nation being referred to as “Chinese Taipei,” and even more said they support using “Taiwan” for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics team, the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation announced yesterday.
Asked how they feel about Taiwan being called “Chinese Taipei” in global events, 51.9 percent of respondents said they do not like it, while 37.4 percent said they did like it, the poll found.
As for the idea of using “Taiwan” at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 65 percent of respondents voiced support, while 26.4 percent did not, the poll showed.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Asked about President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) performance, 33.3 percent of the respondents said they agree with her handling of national affairs, foundation chairman You Ying-lung (游盈隆) told a news conference in Taipei, adding that the numbers were basically unchanged from previous surveys.
Just over half (50.2 percent) said Tsai’s nine-day visit to Paraguay and Belize, with two stopovers in the US, has helped elevate the nation’s global presence, which was a significant increase of nearly 10 percentage points compared with respondents’ perception about her visit to Eswatini in April, You said.
Asked about Premier William Lai’s (賴清德) performance, 41.7 percent of respondents liked it, while 44.8 percent did not, the first time more people disapproved of him than approved, the poll found.
Taiwan United Nations Alliance chairman Michael Tsai (蔡明憲), who took part at the news conference, said more Taiwanese have signed a petition backing the use of the name “Taiwan” at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after a series of Chinese bullying incidents.
Those incidents include the Taichung City Government’s loss of the right to host the first East Asian Youth Games due to Chinese pressure and Chinese netizens launching a boycott of Taiwan-based bakery chain 85?C after Tsai Ing-wen visited a branch in Los Angeles, California, on Aug. 12.
The poll also found the approval ratings of the Democratic Progressive Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) tied for the first time, at 24.5 percent, You said.
Tsai Ing-wen’s cross-strait policy is more pragmatic than idealistic, but she should display more idealism if she wants to win more respect from the public, he added.
While her administration has made some progress in promoting its New Southbound Policy and an independent national defense industry, she has yet to increase the national defense budget to 3 percent of the nation’s GDP as promised, Michael Tsai said.
She has not paid enough attention to seeking the perpetrators of the 228 Incident and in realizing transitional justice, he added.
The poll, conducted by the Focus Survey Research, collected 1,074 valid samples through telephone interviews on Monday and Tuesday last week, and has a margin of error of 2.99 percentage points.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
RSS