A majority of people in Hong Kong believe China’s “one country, two systems” model is not applicable to Taiwan, a survey released on Tuesday by the University of Hong Kong found.
The poll by the university’s Public Opinion Programme found that 59 percent of respondents believed “one country, two systems” is not applicable to Taiwan, up 9 percentage points from the previous poll in August last year.
It is the highest percentage since the question was first asked in a poll in November 1996, surpassing the previous high of 58.5 percent in March 2015.
Only 29 percent of respondents thought the formula was applicable, down 7 percentage points from the August poll, and the first time it dipped below 30 percent in the poll’s history.
The poll found that 53.5 percent of respondents favored Taiwan rejoining the UN, down 5.5 percentage points from August, but still above the 50 percent threshold rarely achieved since the question was first asked in June 1993, while 28.6 percent opposed UN membership, down 0.6 percentage points.
Opposition has rarely fallen below 30 percent during the poll’s history.
When asked whether they were confident in the “ultimate reunification of Taiwan and mainland China,” 60.4 percent of respondents said they were not confident, up 4 percentage points, and 27.9 percent were confident, down 7 percentage points.
The net confidence level of minus-32.5 percentage points was the second-lowest since the question was first asked in June 1993, trailing only the net confidence level of minus-36.8 percent in August 2017.
The poll also found 34.5 percent support for “Taiwan becoming independent,” the highest such support has been since 1994, when backing for Taiwanese independence reached nearly 40 percent.
The survey was conducted between Jan. 7 and Jan. 11 among 1,007 people, with a valid response rate of 55.6 percent.
The Public Opinion Programme conducts the survey twice a year.
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