A majority of respondents view President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) response to China’s demarcation of its East China Sea air defense identification zone (ADIZ) as “too soft,” a public opinion survey conducted by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has shown.
Of the 1,338 valid responses, 75.2 percent said that the Civil Aeronautics Administration should not comply with China’s request for flight plans, while 15.4 percent agreed with the move, according to the DPP poll conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Of those polled, 64.6 percent said Ma’s response to China’s unilateral demarcation has been “too soft,” with 23 percent of respondents saying Ma’s response was “fine,” 2 percent saying it was “too strong,” and 10.4 percent not giving an answer.
“It was not a surprise that Ma’s reaction has been interpreted as weak. After all, even Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia urged Taiwan to voice concerns to China about the establishment of the zone and US Vice President Joe Biden called for Beijing to exercise restraint on the issue,” DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) told a press conference yesterday.
In response to Ma’s comment that the zone was “not connected to sovereignty,” 75.2 percent of respondents said they disagreed with the statement, including 52 percent who indicated “strong objection.”
Asked if Beijing’s request for flight plans was reasonable, 72.2 percent of those polled said “no,” including 49.2 percent who said it was “very unreasonable,” however, 15.9 percent said it was reasonable and 11.9 percent had no opinion.
When asked what would be an appropriate response to the situation, 62.4 percent of respondents said the nation should join Japan, South Korea and the US in lodging a protest with China, while 28.4 percent disagreed with that approach and 9.2 percent did not give an opinion.
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