A year after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) returned to power, a new survey found that the number of people identifying themselves exclusively as either Taiwanese or Chinese has fallen slightly, while people calling themselves both Taiwanese and Chinese rose by 3 percent.
The Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC) yesterday published its latest survey on political and ethnic views.
The survey showed that 64.6 percent of respondents identified themselves as Taiwanese, 11.5 percent considered themselves Chinese, while 18.1 percent called themselves both Taiwanese and Chinese.
The same survey in April last year showed that 67.1 percent identified themselves as Taiwanese, 13.6 percent considered themselves Chinese, and 15.2 percent called themselves both Taiwanese and Chinese.
On the KMT government’s performance, 49.3 percent of respondents were dissatisfied, while the approval rate stood at 34.9 percent.
For the Democratic Progressive Party, however, 67.3 percent of respondents expressed disillusionment, while 16.7 percent were satisfied with the party’s performance.
On ethnic issues, 52.9 percent of respondents said that Taiwan does not have serious ethnic problems, a decline from 56.7 percent in last year’s survey, while 33.7 percent of respondents said ethnic disputes were a serious problem, about the same level as last year’s 33.2 percent.
The survey indicated that 58.9 percent of respondents attributed ethnic discord to manipulation by politicians for the sake of party interests, down from 67.6 percent, while 15.3 percent said that the issue has historical origins, down from 16.4 percent a year ago.
The poll found people were divided over whether the country will experience more serious ethnic problems — with 30.4 percent saying it would, 47.7 percent saying it would not and 4.9 percent saying things would stay the same.
The survey indicated that the ethnic background of candidates may not be a deciding factor in elections.
The survey showed that 14.4 percent of the respondents said they would consider voting or not voting for a specific candidate because of his or her ethnicity, down from 18.7 percent in last year’s survey, while 79.1 percent of respondents said that ethnicity was not a driving factor in who they voted for, up from 78.8 percent a year ago.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A study published by online booking platform Expedia revealed searches for travel to Taipei have ballooned 2,786 percent following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions due to the city being a “designation dupe” for Seoul. The TikTok trend for duping — referring to substituting a designation for a more inexpensive alternative — helped propel interest in Taipei, it said in a consumer survey titled “Unpack ‘24,” which was conducted from September to October in 14 countries. Location dupes are “every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true places travelers love,” Expedia trend tracker Melanie Fish said of the year’s popular alternatives, which
INCENTIVES: The province’s ‘21 measures’ include enhanced agricultural loans for Taiwanese farmers, and rent waivers and housing subsidies for Taiwanese start-ups China’s Fujian Province on Monday began implementing 15 economic measures targeting Taiwanese in its latest bid to fan pro-Beijing sentiment ahead of the Jan. 13 elections. Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency said the policies were part of “21 measures” unveiled in September by China for Fujian’s “integrated cross-strait development demonstration zone.” The partially implemented measures, which were created with input from Beijing, include reducing the wait time for Taiwanese applying for a visa from 20 days to five days and free public transit for Taiwanese older than 65, it said. Residents of Taiwan were granted use of the “all provincial Taiwanese entrepreneur compatriot
Tokyo has requested regions in southern Japan to accommodate people evacuated from Okinawa Prefecture in case of a war in the Taiwan Strait, Kyodo news agency reported on Monday. If a conflict breaks out across the Strait, people on the Sakishima Islands, which lie between Taiwan proper and Okinawa’s main island, would have to be evacuated from the prefecture, the news agency reported. An estimated 120,000 people would need to be moved, including 110,000 citizens and 10,000 tourists, it said. Niitani Koushi, who is in charge of crisis management at the Japanese Cabinet Secretariat, visited Yamaguchi Prefecture at the southern end of Japan’s