Only 2 percent of respondents to a poll on constitutional amendments and national identity identified as Chinese, while 62.6 percent identified as Taiwanese, the Taiwan Thinktank said yesterday.
Legislators have proposed amendments to the Additional Articles of the Constitution (憲法增修條文), which would change the definition of the nation’s territory, remove the Taiwan Provincial Government as an entity, prioritize the use of “Taiwan” for national groups at international events, and remove restrictions on defining the national emblem, national flag and national anthem.
The poll showed that 80.5 percent of respondents agreed that the nation should participate as “Taiwan” at events organized by world bodies, while 12 percent disagreed.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Ethnically, 62.6 percent identified as Taiwanese, while 2 percent identified as Chinese and 32.6 percent identified as both, the results showed.
If they were forced to choose between Taiwanese and Chinese, 86 percent chose Taiwanese and 6.3 percent selected Chinese, while 1.1 percent adamantly maintained that they are both.
When asked what name the nation should use at global events, 51.2 percent of respondents said “Taiwan,” while 33 percent said the “Republic of China,” 9.7 percent said “Chinese Taipei” (中華台北), 0.6 percent said “Zhongguo Taibei” (中國台北), and 2 percent said “Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu,” while 0.1 percent said other names, 2.9 percent said they did not know or had no opinion, and 0.5 percent refused to answer.
Under a 1981 agreement with the International Olympic Committee, the Republic of China Olympic Committee was renamed the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee.
In 2008, China used “Zhongguo Taibei” instead of “Chinese Taipei,” saying that there was no difference between them in Chinese.
To join the WTO in 2002, Taiwan used the name “Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.”
The poll results show a consolidation of Taiwanese national identity as Beijing’s intimidation tactics further alienate those who identify as Chinese, Thinktank deputy executive-general Doong Sy-chi (董思齊) said.
Most Taiwanese aged 30 and younger view international affairs from the perspective of Taiwan being an independent political entity, a consensus that the proposed amendments to the act could harness, Doong said.
The poll showed that 82.1 percent of respondents agreed that the phrase “according to its existing national boundaries” could be changed to “the areas of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu where the Constitution is observed,” while 5.2 percent did not agree.
However, most of the respondents agreed that the national territory did not include territory being administered by the People’s Republic of China.
Regarding the Taiwan Provincial Government, 68.8 percent of respondents saw no reason to keep it, while 18.5 percent supported its continuation.
The provincial government was set up in 1947, but declined after “province” was removed as a governmental tier in 1997. Despite being effectively disbanded, it cannot be officially removed without a constitutional amendment.
The results showed that 69.2 percent of respondents agreed that the Constitution should say more about Taiwan’s information technology and other high-tech industries, given that autocratic countries are seeking to infiltrate them and influence their development.
The poll, conducted from Tuesday to Thursday last week, collected 1,074 valid telephone interviews with people aged 18 and older, and has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus-3 percentage points.
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
‘COMING MENACINGLY’: The CDC advised wearing a mask when visiting hospitals or long-term care centers, on public transportation and in crowded indoor venues Hospital visits for COVID-19 last week increased by 113 percent to 41,402, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, as it encouraged people to wear a mask in three public settings to prevent infection. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said weekly hospital visits for COVID-19 have been increasing for seven consecutive weeks, and 102 severe COVID-19 cases and 19 deaths were confirmed last week, both the highest weekly numbers this year. CDC physician Lee Tsung-han (李宗翰) said the youngest person hospitalized due to the disease this year was reported last week, a one-month-old baby, who does not