A vast majority of respondents in a poll on national identity said they were “Taiwanese,” the Taiwan Thinktank said yesterday.
Regarding national identification, 59.8 percent of respondents said they are Taiwanese, while only 2.9 percent identified as Chinese, Taiwan Thinktank deputy executive-general Doong Sy-chi (董思齊) told a news conference in Taipei, adding that 34 percent of respondents said they identify as Taiwanese and Chinese.
When given only one choice, 84.9 percent identified as Taiwanese, and only 8.7 percent said they were Chinese, Doong said, adding that the findings were consistent with earlier surveys.
About 90 percent of people aged 18 to 29 identify as Taiwanese, while 25 percent of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supporters identify as Chinese, Doong said.
Commenting of the growing self-identification as Taiwanese, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said: “This is the clear manifestation of national identity.”
However, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said that about 8 percent of Taiwanese would choose the Chinese side “when crunch time comes.”
Lawmakers should amend legislation to better protect national security, for example by limiting Chinese investments in Taiwan, he added.
In the poll, about 60 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s economy so far fared well during the COVID-19 pandemic, while about 35 percent said that the economy did not perform well enough, the think tank said.
Eighty-two percent said that the government should push Taiwan as a brand to help export-oriented companies, Doong said.
Meanwhile, the survey showed 81.3 percent said they are unwilling to give up the nation's sovereignty in exchange for joining international trade bodies, Doong said.
Fifty-five percent said that Taiwanese firms should cut links to China-dominated supply chains, he said.
A majority thinks that US-led supply chains are better for Taiwan’s economy, while 30 percent think that close ties to Chinese manufacturers are more important, Doong said.
Among the four elected presidents of Taiwan’s democratic era, respondents gave the highest grades to late president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), the think tank said, adding that this reflected strong support for Lee’s policies to develop industries and spur economic growth.
More than 70 percent agreed with Lee’s “go slow, be patient” principle, Doong said, adding that 84.1 percent said they supported Lee’s efforts to integrate Taiwan into the global economy by joining international bodies such as the APEC.
The survey, conducted from Friday to Sunday last week, collected 1,078 valid telephone samples from across Taiwan, and had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
This story has been amended since it was first published.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
RSS