The majority of respondents in a survey on cross-strait affairs view the relationship as “state-to-state” and do not support unification in the future, a poll released by Taiwan Indicators Survey Research (TISR) yesterday showed.
Asked whether the relationship between Taiwan and China is “state-to-state,” 59.7 percent gave a positive response, up from 56.2 percent in a similar survey conducted by TISR in April last year, with 25 percent saying “no” and 15.3 percent declining to answer.
The survey, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, also found that 61 percent of those polled did not agree that Taiwan and “mainland China” belong to “one China,” while 26.8 percent agreed and 12.2 percent did not respond.
The same question in last year’s survey found that 48.1 percent did not support “one China,” an increase of almost 13 percentage points in a year.
If the governments on each side of the Taiwan Strait recognized the legitimacy of the other, 50.8 percent of respondents said they would not support a Taiwan-China alliance or unification as a new country.
Only 28 percent said they supported it and 21.2 percent did not give an answer.
Even if the new unified country was given a new name other than the Republic of China or the People’s Republic of China, more than half, or 50.1 percent, of those polled said they would still not accept the arrangement, with 32.6 percent saying they would support the move.
The strongest “one China” supporters in Taiwan appeared to be those who identified themselves as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supporters, the survey found, as 52.3 percent of them agreed that both sides belong to “one China,” 52.7 percent supported an alliance or unification, and 53.6 percent said they would accept a country with a new name.
Most Taiwanese appeared to find Beijing’s “one country, two systems” model, which has been implemented in Hong Kong, unimpressive, with 61.6 percent saying that the model has left them with a “bad impression” and just 16.7 percent giving it the thumbs-up.
With Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) assuming the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chair on Wednesday, 70.7 percent of all respondents — including 76.8 percent of those who identified themselves as DPP supporters — said it is necessary for Tsai to make public her policies on China.
The poll collected 1,001 valid samples and had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
WHEELING AND DEALING? Hou You-yi, Ko Wen-je, Eric Chu and Ma Ying-jeou are under investigation for allegedly offering bribes for the other side to drop out of the race Taipei prosecutors have started an investigation into allegations that four top politicians involved in attempts to form a “blue-white” presidential ticket have contravened election regulations. Listed as defendants are Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). The case stemmed from judicial complaints filed last month with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office alleging that the KMT (blue) and the TPP (white) had engaged in bribery by offering money or other enticements
ELIGIBLE FOR JANUARY: All presidential candidates and their running mates meet the requirements to run for office, and none hold dual citizenship, the CEC said Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator and vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈) is working with the Central Election Commission (CEC) to resolve issues with her financial disclosure statement, a spokesman for the candidate said yesterday, after the commission published the statements of all three presidential candidates and their running mates, while confirming their eligibility to run in the Jan. 13 election. Wu’s office spokesman, Chen Yu-cheng (陳宥丞), said the candidate encountered unforeseen difficulties disclosing her husband’s finances due to being suddenly thrust into the campaign. She is also the first vice presidential nominee to have a foreign spouse, complicating the reporting of
GOOD NEWS: Although open civic spaces are shrinking in Asia-Pacific countries and territories, Taiwan’s openness is a positive sign, an expert said Taiwan remains the only country in Asia with an “open” civic space for the fifth consecutive year, the Civicus Monitor said in a report released yesterday. The People Power Under Attack 2023 report named Taiwan as one of only 37 open countries or territories out of 198 globally, and the only one in Asia. Compiled by Civicus — a global alliance of civil society organizations dedicated to bolstering civil action — the ranking compiled annually since 2017 measures the state of freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression around the world. Researchers assign each country or territory one of five rankings describing the
NOT JUST CHIPS: Although semiconductor processes are on the list, it also includes military technology and post-quantum cryptography to combat emerging cyberthreats The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) yesterday released a list of 22 technologies it considers crucial to the nation’s security and competitiveness, including the 14-nanometer semiconductor process and advanced chip packaging. For the first time, the council made a list of core technologies with an aim of preventing secret information about those technologies being leaked to foreign countries, which could put the nation’s security and the competitiveness of local industries at risk. For years, local semiconductor companies have faced challenges from talent poaching and theft of corporate secrets by Chinese competitors, who are seeking to rapidly advance their technology capabilities through