The number of people who identify themselves as Taiwanese showed a marginal increase compared with a survey conducted four years ago, while the number of those who identify themselves as being Chinese continues to drop, the Taiwan Indicators Survey Research (TISR) said yesterday.
In a tracking poll about identity, wherein respondents were allowed to make multiple choices, 96.5 percent of respondents identified themselves as Taiwanese, an increase of 0.6 percent from a similar poll conducted in September 2008, the survey showed.
In answer to the same question, 85.3 percent of respondents also identified themselves as “citizens of the Republic of China,” 74.1 percent checked Zhonghua minzu (中華民族, Chinese ethnic group), 72.3 percent chose “Asians” and 69.8 percent huaren (華人, ethnic Chinese).
Meanwhile, the percentage of those who identified themselves as zhongguo ren (中國人, Chinese) dropped to 43.5 percent from 46.6 percent in the 2008 poll, and only 7.5 percent said they were “citizens of the People’s Republic of China [PRC],” down 1.9 percent.
TISR general manager Tai Li-an (戴立安) said that 11 percent of respondents in the 20-to-39 age group said they were PRC citizens.
Asked about future relations between Taiwan and China, 37.4 percent viewed the two as “trade partners,” down 6.7 percent from a similar poll in March 2010, the survey showed.
About one in five, or 19.9 percent, viewed the two sides as “friends,” 8.2 percent as “relatives,” 8.1 percent as “family members,” 4.3 percent as “strangers” and 4.2 percent as “enemies.”
Opposition to “eventual unification” remained strong, with 60.9 percent of respondents saying they do not support unification with China, about three times the percentage of those who favored it at 20.5 percent.
More than half — 52.3 percent — of respondents said Taiwan should eventually become a fully fledged independent and new nation, while 27.5 percent did not support the idea.
Pan-blue supporters appeared to be divided on the issue, with 44.4 percent supportive of Taiwanese independence against 43.3 percent who oppose it.
Public opinion remained divided over President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) position on the nation’s future, with 37.5 percent saying that Ma was pro-unification and 33.9 percent saying that Ma favored the “status quo,” which were about the same as the ratios in previous surveys. Only 9.7 percent of respondents said Ma was pro-independence.
The survey, conducted on Thursday and Friday last week, collected 1,002 valid samples and had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
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
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
CHINA illness surge: Of 88 travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau with respiratory symptoms who were encouraged to get tested upon arrival, 70.6% had the flu Two hundred and sixty people with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 31 deaths related to the virus were reported last week — the highest numbers in four weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that cases are expected to peak next month. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the 260 people hospitalized last week with moderate to severe COVID-19, 98 percent had not received the Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine. Among the people hospitalized this year, 78 percent were aged 65 or older, while most of the those who were hospitalized or died have or had
A small-scale protest that called on the government to cancel its plan to welcome Indian migrant workers in a bid to tackle Taiwan’s labor shortage was held in Taipei yesterday. During the protest, comprised of a few dozen people staged in front of the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard, the protest’s chief initiator, a woman identified only as “Yuna” said they wanted the central government to reconsider allowing migrant workers from India to enter Taiwan. Most people in Taiwan had little knowledge about the potential plan to allow in Indian migrant workers until a report in the media last month, she