More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found.
The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement.
The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification with Taiwan: Evidence from a Nationwide Survey in China” in May 2023 showed that 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve the unification of China and Taiwan, the Carter Center report said.
Photo: AP
However, most of the respondents in the latest survey said that they would agree with military action if that was the last resort.
Only 18.1 said that no military action was necessary, it showed.
“Public opinion in China reflects American views. Polling by Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy found that 87.6 percent of Chinese people agree that the United States is actively trying to limit China’s development,” the report said.
Asked how long China should wait to resolve the issue of Taiwan, the most common response — given by 33.5 percent of respondents — was within five years, it said.
Respondents were also asked about China’s interaction with Russia, India and countries around the South China Sea.
It showed that 66.1 percent said China should support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as it is in Beijing’s national interest, while 5.8 said it was not in China’s interest to support Russia’s operations in Ukraine.
It showed that 79.7 percent believe Beijing should maintain border claims with India, despite the risk of conflict, while 20.3 percent said a more diplomatic approach would be preferable.
Asked whether Southeast Asian countries should respect China’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea — even though the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has rejected Beijing’s claims — 81.1 percent said that they should, the survey showed.
The survey, which was conducted from Sept. 1 and 25 last year by survey company Dynata, interviewed 2,211 Chinese citizens aged 18 to 54.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS