Nearly 60 percent of young Taiwanese support independence as national identity is becoming increasingly divided along generational lines, a survey released yesterday by the Chinese-language CommonWealth Magazine (天下雜誌) showed.
Taiwanese are the most divided they have ever been over the issue of independence and national identity, the survey said.
Among respondents aged 30 or younger, nearly 60 percent said they choose independence, while more than 60 percent of those aged 40 or older said they preferred maintaining the “status quo,” the survey said.
Overall, those who favored keeping the “status quo” remained in the majority, although those who support unification with China dropped to 5.5 percent, the lowest proportion since the magazine began the surveys in 2002.
Among those in their 20s, 58.5 percent said they support Taiwanese independence, the survey said.
Asked which name better represents the nation, most of those aged 40 or older said “the Republic of China,” while the majority of those in their 20s and 30s prefered “Taiwan.”
Asked if they identify themselves as Taiwanese, Chinese or both, 61.9 percent said Taiwanese, 28. 3 percent said both and 6.5 percent said Chinese.
The results were similar in the other age brackets, except for respondents in their 20s, among whom 82.4 percent self-identified as Taiwanese, the survey showed.
Across generations, the only consensus appeared to be a shared opposition to Beijing’s “one country, two systems” proposal, the survey showed. Ninety percent of respondents said that “one country, two systems” cannot apply to Taiwan, while 2.8 percent said that it can.
The survey showed that Taiwanese have become more concerned about living in China.
Asked whether they would be willing to work in China, 28.8 percent of respondents said yes, compared with 40.3 percent in a similar survey earlier this year, while 58.6 percent said that they would not work there.
Regarding education across the Taiwan Strait, 67.8 percent said they would not let their children study in China, while 25 percent said they would, the survey showed.
Asked if they think a peace agreement with China would protect Taiwan, 63.4 percent said no, while 23.1 percent said yes, it showed.
The survey collected 1,073 valid samples via telephone interviews from Nov. 21 to Nov. 24. It has a margin of error of 2.99 percentage points. The result was weighted to fit a Taiwanese population profile.
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
The Presidential Office today thanked the US for enacting the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law, signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday, is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct such a review "not less than every five years." It must then submit an updated
CROSS-STRAIT COLLABORATION: The new KMT chairwoman expressed interest in meeting the Chinese president from the start, but she’ll have to pay to get in Beijing allegedly agreed to let Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) around the Lunar New Year holiday next year on three conditions, including that the KMT block Taiwan’s arms purchases, a source said yesterday. Cheng has expressed interest in meeting Xi since she won the KMT’s chairmanship election in October. A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a consensus on a meeting was allegedly reached after two KMT vice chairmen visited China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤) in China last month. Beijing allegedly gave the KMT three conditions it had to
STAYING ALERT: China this week deployed its largest maritime show of force to date in the region, prompting concern in Taipei and Tokyo, which Beijing has brushed off Deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority, the White House said in its National Security Strategy published yesterday, which also called on Japan and South Korea to increase their defense spending to help protect the first island chain. Taiwan is strategically positioned between Northeast and Southeast Asia, and provides direct access to the second island chain, with one-third of global shipping passing through the South China Sea, the report said. Given the implications for the US economy, along with Taiwan’s dominance in semiconductors, “deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” it said. However, the strategy also reiterated
RSS