Public support for maintaining the “status quo” forever across the Taiwan Strait has been growing over the past three years, a survey released yesterday showed.
Asked about their view on Taiwanese independence or unification with China, 44.3 percent of respondents supported “forever maintaining the status quo,” up from 42 percent and 40.8 percent last year and 2021 respectively, a poll by the World United Formosans for Independence and the Taiwan National Security Association showed.
Only 3.8 percent of respondents supported “independence as soon as possible,” while 0.7 percent supported “unification as soon as possible,” it showed.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The trend suggests that Taiwanese have become “more conservative” amid heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait and around the world, said Chen Kuan-hsien (陳冠憲), a researcher at the association.
Another 35.8 percent of respondents supported “maintaining the status quo while working toward independence,” down from more than 40 percent in the past two years, while 11.5 percent supported “maintaining the status quo while working toward unification,” an increase from lower than 10 percent in the past two years, it showed.
The results align with changes in respondents’ perceptions about identity — fewer people identified as “only Taiwanese” and more identified themselves as “only citizens of the Republic of China,” Taiwan Statebuilding Party chairman Wang Hsing-huan (王興煥) said.
Taiwan New Constitution Foundation deputy director Sung Cheng-en (宋承恩) warned that China is determined to “take back” Taiwan and is focused on political warfare and propaganda to influence Taiwan’s elections in January.
Beijing’s attempts might include increasing its political and economic pressure on Taiwan and using the Internet to sway public opinion, he said.
China is “nurturing political agents” in Taiwan to help spread US skepticism narratives or rumors that the Taiwanese economy is reliant on China and that China’s system is superior, he said.
Asked whether the government should pro-actively advocate for establishing diplomatic relations with the US, 29.5 percent of respondents strongly agreed, 17.9 percent moderately agreed and 30.5 percent took a neutral stance, the poll showed.
On forming a military alliance with the US, 41.8 percent of respondents strongly agreed, 17.5 percent moderately agreed and 21.3 percent took a neutral stance, it showed.
The Focus Survey Research was commissioned to conduct the survey, collecting 1,084 valid samples from Monday to Wednesday last week, half by landline and half by mobile phone.
It had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.98 percentage points.
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’: Donald Trump vowed to reward his supporters, while President William Lai said he was confident the Taiwan-US partnership would continue Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the US early yesterday morning, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts. With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency. As of press time last night, The Associated Press had Trump on 277 electoral college votes to 224 for US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee, with Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Michigan and Nevada yet to finalize results. He had 71,289,216 votes nationwide, or 51 percent, while Harris had 66,360,324 (47.5 percent). “We’ve been through so
The US will continue its friendly approach toward Taiwan in the next US administration and Taiwan would work to prevent China “making trouble” during the transition, a senior Taiwanese security official said yesterday. Former US president Donald Trump, the Republican candidate who claimed victory in Tuesday’s vote against US Vice President Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party, made comments on the campaign trail that Taiwan should pay to be protected and also accused the nation of “stealing” American semiconductor business. Taiwan has faced military pressure from Beijing over the past five years, including four major rounds of war games in the past