Nearly 70 percent of respondents to a recent poll expressed approval of institutional cross-strait negotiations, saying they are helpful to forging peace and stability between Taiwan and China.
The survey, conducted by the poll center of the Taipei Municipal University of Education and commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council, found that 65 percent of respondents agreed that the establishment of communication channels between government agencies will help solve problems resulting from increased cross-strait exchanges.
On a proposed agreement on the avoidance of double taxation that was not signed as scheduled in the latest round of cross-strait talks that concluded last week, 58 percent of those polled said they supported the government’s decision to postpone the signing of the pact.
With regard to the agenda for the next round of talks — scheduled for the first half of next year in China — 73 percent of those surveyed said the issue of intellectual property rights protection should be included, while 55 percent said they favored discussion on the proposed cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA).
The survey also found that after the latest talks, there was no apparent change in the percentage of people who categorically support either Taiwan’s unification with or independence from China.
Those who were broadly classified as supportive of maintaining the “status quo” — including those who favor maintaining the status quo forever and those who would prefer maintaining the status quo now and then moving toward either unification or independence — accounted for 88 percent of respondents, with those who support the “status quo” forever increasing slightly to 30 percent.
The percentage of those who are broadly classified as favoring unification — including the “status quo” and then unification — and those broadly classified as favoring independence — including the “status quo” and then independence — remained unchanged at 10 percent and 20 percent respectively, the survey found.
The survey, conducted between Friday and Sunday with 1,092 valid samples collected, has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
‘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