With China recently conducting large-scale military exercises around Taiwan, public perception that Beijing is hostile to the government and people of Taiwan has soared to 20-year highs, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
A survey commissioned by the council showed that 80.8 percent of respondents said Beijing is hostile to the Taiwanese government and 66.6 percent said it is hostile to Taiwanese, MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said.
Asked about China’s military activities, 88.3 percent of respondents condemned Beijng’s live-fire missile tests and sea and air drills, and 88.7 percent slammed Chinese cyberattacks and fake news targeting Taiwan, he said.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
In a show of support for the government, 80.3 percent backed President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) call on Beijing to immediately cease its provocative actions and 82.6 percent agreed with the Tsai administration’s line to neither provoke nor concede to China.
Additionally, 82.3 percent agreed that Taiwan should prevent Chinese aggression by standing in solidarity with the international community, and 82.6 percent opposed Beijing’s bans on Taiwanese agricultural exports and natural sand imports, the survey showed.
Furthermore, 76.2 percent of respondents rejected Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is a part of China, and 77.7 percent backed Taipei’s stance that Taiwan and China are independent and mutually non-subordinate sovereign nations, it showed.
Beijing’s latest white paper promoting “reunification” under the “one country, two systems” framework was unacceptable to 84.7 percent of respondents, and 77.8 percent opposed China’s sanctions against so-called “separatist” individuals, groups and companies in Taiwan, the poll showed.
According to the poll, 86.1 percent of the public wants to keep a “broadly defined status quo” and 84.7 percent said only Taiwanese have the right to decide the future of Taiwan.
The MAC condemns China’s recent actions as harmful to peace and stability in the region, and a challenge to the international order, Chiu said.
Taiwan will make no concessions under pressure and instead will look to bolstering its defensive capabilities, he added.
The survey was conducted by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center from Wednesday last week to Sunday by landline. A total of 1,076 valid samples were collected with a margin of error of 2.99 percentage points.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS