Interest among the Chinese public in the issue of China’s unification with Taiwan is low, researchers said, citing the results of a poll.
An article titled “Assessing Public Support for (Non-)Peaceful Unification with Taiwan: Evidence from a Nationwide Survey in China,” published in the Journal of Contemporary China on May 14, showed that only 55 percent of those surveyed in China would support the use of military force to achieve unification with Taiwan.
In the survey, which polled 1,824 people on the question of how they would like to see the issue of Taiwan’s unification with China resolved, “only one out of one hundred rejected all but the most extreme option of wutong (武統, unification through military force),” the researchers wrote.
Photo: Reuters
The survey presented respondents with five options regarding Taiwan: to achieve unification through military force; to invade Kinmen and Lienchiang counties and force Taiwan to surrender; to use economic sanctions to force negotiations; to maintain the “status quo” and strengthen China’s national power to encourage Taiwan to voluntarily seek unification; or to allow Taiwan to choose its own path, including independence.
Support for most options was nearly equal, except for the option that included Taiwan’s independence, which 22 percent supported.
University of Miami political science researcher June Teufel Dreyer commented on the results during a Radio Free Asia program on Monday.
“This obviously does not support [Chinese President] Xi Jinping’s (習近平) statement that ‘the whole country is eagerly looking forward to the return of Taiwan,’” she said.
RAND Corp Hu Taiwan Policy Initiative director Raymond Kuo (郭泓均) also commented on the survey, saying that support in China for the use of military force against Taiwan might be even lower than what the survey reflects.
Based on research on the level of self-censorship practiced by Chinese when taking polls, the actual percentage of those who support military force might be closer to 25 percent, he said.
Chinese would also be influenced by a number of other factors, including China’s human rights situation, political factors and the possibility of US involvement in a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, he said.
National University of Singapore researcher Adam Liu (劉遙), who is one of the coauthors of the article, said that China’s rhetoric on Taiwan had toughened in comparison with when former Chinese presidents Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) were in power, which might be attributed to US-China tensions or to the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), but Chinese would likely accept their government having a softer stance toward Taiwan.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS