About two-thirds of Taiwanese do not identify as Chinese, a survey released on Tuesday showed.
The US-based Pew Research Center found that 66 percent view themselves as Taiwanese, 28 percent as both Taiwanese and Chinese ,and 4 percent as just Chinese.
The telephone poll of 1,562 people, conducted last year, has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.
Photo: AFP
The results are consistent with other polls showing that people in Taiwan increasingly identify only as Taiwanese, Pew said.
Younger generations in particular have developed a distinct identity, with 83 percent of respondents younger than 30 saying that they do not consider themselves Chinese, the survey showed.
Alexander Huang (黃介正), an associate professor in Tamkang University’s Department of Diplomacy and International Relations, said that it is a question of politics, not ethnic background.
Younger Taiwanese grew up in a democracy, while China is a one-party state, he said.
Another factor, is the diplomatic pressure that China puts on Taiwan and the military exercises it conducts in Taiwan’s vicinity, Huang said.
“We are ethnic Chinese for sure, but politically, I think that’s the big difference,” he said. “It is quite understandable that people don’t want to be identified as Chinese.”
In addition, about 2.3 percent of Taiwanese are members of indigenous groups not ethnically Chinese.
The Pew survey found that about 60 percent of Taiwanese have an unfavorable view of China. While 52 percent support closer economic ties with China, only 36 percent favor closer political ties.
Conversely, more than two-thirds have a favorable view of the US, with 79 percent supporting closer political ties.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RSS