The number of Taiwanese identifying as only Chinese reached a new low last year of 2.4 percent, the latest consolidated survey results from National Chengchi University showed on Thursday.
The figure represents the lowest percentage identifying as only Chinese since the university’s Election Study Center began the survey in 1992.
About 61.7 percent of those surveyed identified only as Taiwanese, down from 63.3 percent in 2022.
Photo courtesy of the National Chengchi University Election Study Center
Taiwanese identification in the survey has exceeded 60 percent in all of the past four years, after hitting a high of 64.3 percent in 2020.
The percentage of those only identifying as only Taiwanese overtook those identifying as both Taiwanese and Chinese in 2008, and has not swapped again since.
When the survey was first taken in 1992, 25.5 percent of respondents said they identified as only Chinese, to only 17.6 percent who identified as only Taiwanese and 46.4 percent who identified as both.
Photo courtesy of the National Chengchi University Election Study Center
By last year, the “both” identification had fallen to 32 percent.
Asked about their stance on unification and independence, 33.2 percent supported maintaining the “status quo” indefinitely, a new high since the survey was first taken in 1994.
Those supporting maintaining the “status quo” indefinitely overtook those who support deciding at a later date for the first time in 2022, and have continued to increase in numbers, with only 27.9 percent now supporting deciding at a later date.
Supporters of unification “as soon as possible” only totaled 1.2 percent last year, and have never exceeded 5 percent in the survey, while 6.2 percent supported maintaining the “status quo” while moving toward unification.
Only 3.8 percent said they want independence “as soon as possible,” showing a downward decline from recent years and hitting the lowest since 2002.
Supporters of the “status quo” while moving toward independence continued its four-year downward trajectory to 21.5 percent last year, after hitting a high of 25.8 percent in 2020 and seeing a huge jump from 15.1 percent in 2018.
Each data point represents the results of consolidated data at the end of each year.
Additional reporting by CNA
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