Support for Taiwanese independence has spiked and most people do not fear that China would launch a military attack against the nation, the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation said at a news conference yesterday, citing a poll it conducted.
Among the people it surveyed, 54 percent said they support Taiwanese independence, 23.4 percent favored maintaining the “status quo,” 12.5 percent supported unification with China and about 10 percent gave no response or were unsure, the survey showed.
Of those who favored the “status quo,” 44.1 percent said they would back independence if pushed, 33.6 percent said they would continue to support the “status quo” and 22.3 percent said they would back unification, the survey showed.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Recalibrating the results using the breakdown of the “status quo” supporters showed that 64.4 percent of respondents ultimately supported Taiwanese independence, 7.9 percent backed the “status quo” and 17.8 percent favored unification with China, foundation chairman Michael You (游盈隆) said.
“In my research on public surveys on these issues over the past 30 years, this is the highest rate of support among Taiwanese for independence,” You said. “It is also the lowest figure for people supporting unification with China.”
The COVID-19 pandemic is an important factor pushing people to back independence, he said, adding: “I don’t know any other reasonable explanation for the results.”
Respondents were asked about Beijing having reiterated its resolve to invade Taiwan to deter movement toward independence and other threats, including Chinese aircraft intruding into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.
Forty-three percent of respondents said they were afraid that China would attack Taiwan, while 55 percent said they are not concerned.
“Overall, 55 percent of people said that they do not fear that China would launch a military attack against Taiwan,” Taiwan Association for China Human Rights chairman Yang Sen-hong (楊憲宏) said. “This majority are courageous Taiwanese and the result is an interesting development.”
Asked about China approving national security legislation for Hong Kong and the British government proposing to permit 3 million Hong Kongers to apply for UK citizenship, 41.5 percent of respondents said that Taipei should follow London’s lead, while 50.5 percent said that the rules for Hong Kongers being granted Republic of China citizenship should not change.
Thirty-three percent said that the Council of Grand Justices’ Constitutional Interpretation No. 791, which effectively decriminalized adultery, was a good decision, while 60 percent disagreed with the ruling.
The poll was conducted on Monday and Tuesday last week among Taiwanese aged at least 20, collecting 1,074 valid responses. It has a margin of error of 2.99 percentage points.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS