Respondents in a small majority of countries favored an economic boycott of China if it invaded Taiwan, a survey released on Monday by the Copenhagen-based Alliance of Democracies Foundation found.
The latest Democracy Perception Index, which the foundation publishes in cooperation with the tech firm Latana, showed that respondents in 26 of the 50 countries surveyed preferred their government to cut economic ties with China if it attacked Taiwan.
Among the 26 countries were many of China’s top trading partners — such as Germany, Japan, South Korea and the US — while the 26 countries accounted for more than 53 percent of global trade with China, or US$2.3 trillion, the foundation said.
The latest index was based on 52,785 responses from 53 countries or regions, with an average sample size of 1,000 responses per country or region, it said.
The foundation added that responses from Taiwan, China and Hong Kong were not included for the question: “If China started a military invasion of Taiwan, do you think your country should cut economic ties with China?”
“Western democracies, particularly European countries and the US, have far more people willing to cut ties than to keep ties with China” in the event of a Chinese attack, it said.
Responses from other countries and regions were mixed on the issue, with respondents in most Asian countries, non-democratic countries and Russia preferring their governments to maintain economic ties with China.
The survey, conducted between March 30 and May 10, aimed to understand people’s perceptions of the state of democracy in their country and the major challenges that lie ahead.
The survey did not define “democracy,” although it used the 2021 Freedom in the World report to classify the countries surveyed as “free” or “less free.”
Countries labeled as “free” were democracies, while those classified as “less free” were less democratic countries and non-democratic countries for the purposes of the index.
While 84 percent of respondents surveyed across 53 countries said that democracy is important to have in their country, only 56 percent of them said that their country is democratic.
At 75 percent, Taiwan had the second-highest number of respondents agreeing with the statement: “My country is a democracy,” trailing only China with 83 percent, while Vietnam was third at 73 percent, the index showed.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
RSS