More citizens of Taiwan are identifying themselves as Taiwanese rather than as Chinese or as both, according to a series of opinion polls that were conducted by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) over the past 10 years.
The party released an analysis of opinions about national identity between 1995 and this year in an e-paper on Thursday that was based on 77 opinion polls.
According to the analysis the DPP conducted, more than 60 percent of the people in Taiwan identified themselves with the nation, while only approximately 20 percent said they identified with China after the presidential election in 2004.
People disagreed sharply on their national identity in 1995, with approximately 35 percent saying they were Chinese and 32 percent saying they were Taiwanese, the analysis said.
However, after the presidential election held in 1996, close to half of the people polled identified themselves as Taiwanese, the analysis said.
The percentage of people who said they were Chinese dropped to about 20 percent at this time, it said.
During the presidential election in 2000, more than half of the respondents identified themselves as Taiwanese, but the percentage decreased between September and November 2002. The number of people who said they were Chinese or both Chinese and Taiwanese remained unchanged during this period, the report said.
The result indicated that many people who previously said they were Taiwanese became more undecided about their national identity four years ago, the paper said.
The number of people who said they identified with the nation rose to more than 60 percent after September 2003, when the DPP started its campaign to deliver a new Constitution.
Although the report did not analyze what caused beliefs pertaining to the national identity of people in Taiwan to shift, DPP Deputy Secretary-General Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said yesterday in a telephone interview that "Taiwanese consciousness" began to become better understood after former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) assumed office.
He said that the party felt comforted by the results because they showed that people here do not "fantasize" as much about China as they previously did during the "autocratic era."
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
RSS