Most Taiwanese do not agree with China’s “one country, two systems” formula for unification and believe the nation’s future should be decided by its people, a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday showed.
In the survey, which was conducted by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center from Wednesday to Sunday last week, 79 percent of respondents rejected the “one country, two systems” concept, which would make Taiwan a special administrative region of China.
Only 10.4 percent of respondents accepted the formula, while 10.5 percent said they had no opinion.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The government has already taken countermeasures against a five-point proposal announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Jan. 2, council spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said, adding that the results of the survey proved that Taiwanese oppose China’s propaganda and divisiveness.
Meanwhile, 83.9 percent of respondents rejected the use of force by China against Taiwan, while 87.7 percent said that Taiwan’s future and cross-strait relations should be decided by Taiwan’s 23 million people.
The survey also found that 83.9 percent support exchanges between Taiwan and China being undertaken on the basis of equality and mutual respect, without political preconditions and based on the law.
Eight out of 10 respondents said that the government should have better legislative and monitoring mechanisms before engaging in political negotiations or signing agreements with China.
Almost 90 percent of respondents said that the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait should be maintained.
The telephone survey collected data from 1,093 people aged 20 or above. It has a margin of error of 2.96 percentage points and a confidence level of 95 percent.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
RSS