More than half of Taiwanese are confident in the nation’s self-defense capabilities, and about 73 percent are willing to fight in the event of war, a poll in the latest edition of the Defense Security Journal found.
The poll in the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s (INDSR) biweekly journal was part of an article by INDSR researcher Lee Kuan-chen (李冠成), in which Lee said that Taiwan’s resolve to defend itself has never wavered.
While the March poll found that about 73 percent of Taiwanese would fight for their nation in the event of a Chinese invasion, a similar poll in September last year found that about 75 percent would.
Photo: Military News Agency
In the September poll, about 58 percent of the respondents expressed confidence in the military’s self-defense capabilities, while the figure dropped to about 54 percent in the March poll.
While there was a dip in respondents’ confidence, it was within the poll’s margin of error, the report said, adding the March results indicated Russia’s war in Ukraine has not dampened Taiwanese’s determination to defend their nation.
The public’s positive response to the military’s most recent reservist training program and growing support for extending the mandatory service period was also high, demonstrating that people are resolved to defend their country, Lee said.
The greatest impact the Ukraine war had was on the public’s belief that the US would send troops to help defend Taiwan, Lee said.
About 57 percent of respondents in the September poll answered “certainly” or “maybe” in response to the question: “Will the US send troops to help Taiwan in the event of a war across the Taiwan Strait?” That figure dropped to 40 percent in the March poll.
Lee said that this indicates a more reserved attitude toward the possibility of assistance from friendly nations.
The survey showed that, under the condition that the US would send troops to help Taiwan, about 95 percent of those who are confident in the nation’s defensive capabilities would be willing to fight, whereas among those who expressed a lack of confidence in the military’s self-defense capabilities, only 65 percent would fight.
Under the condition that the US would not send troops to help Taiwan, about 89.8 percent of those confident in the nation’s self-defense capabilities would fight for their nation, while 60 percent of those lacking confidence would fight.
Lee’s study showed that regardless of US military assistance, believing in Taiwan’s military capabilities correlates with a willingness to fight for the nation.
Lee said that confidence in Taiwan’s military is crucial in influencing the public’s spirit of resistence.
The March poll was conducted by National Chengchi University from March 9 to 13, targeting individuals aged 20 or older.
The poll received 1,080 valid samples, with 756 interviews conducted via landline and 324 via cellphones, and has a margin of error of 2.98 percent, with a 95 percent level of confidence.
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
Taiwan must invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to keep abreast of the next technological leap toward automation, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said at the luanch ceremony of Taiwan AI and Robots Alliance yesterday. The world is on the cusp of a new industrial revolution centered on AI and robotics, which would likely lead to a thorough transformation of human society, she told an event marking the establishment of a national AI and robotics alliance in Taipei. The arrival of the next industrial revolution could be a matter of years, she said. The pace of automation in the global economy can
All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) on Saturday survived historical nationwide recall elections, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the legislature. Recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures. In only six of the 24 recall votes did the ballots cast in favor of the recall even meet the threshold of 25 percent of eligible voters needed for the recall to pass,
RSS