An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, 71.5 percent, think that Taiwan should compete in international competitions under the name “Taiwan,” a Taiwan Brain Trust survey published yesterday showed.
Referring to Taiwan’s victory last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12, the survey results showed that 89.1 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s exceptional performance in sporting competitions furthers national unity.
Only 18.8 percent of respondents supported Taiwanese teams’ continued use of the name “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting competitions, the survey showed.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Among Taiwan’s leading political parties, the name “Team Taiwan” was supported by 91.1 percent of self-identified Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters, 56.1 percent of Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) supporters and 47.9 percent of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supporters.
Asked whether the government should endorse the name change, 79.6 percent of respondents said it should, compared with 96.8 percent of DPP supporters, 65.8 percent of TPP supporters and 67.1 percent of KMT supporters, the poll showed.
Regarding Taiwan’s future sporting achievements, 88.1 percent of respondents, including 85 percent of people who said they support one of the nation’s three main political parties, said they were optimistic.
The survey results clearly show that sporting achievements and national identity are closely intertwined, can unite Taiwan and give a shared sense of pride, while bridging ideological differences across the Taiwan Strait, Foundation on East Asia Peace Studies chief executive officer Tung Li-wen (董立文) said.
The public’s interest in Taiwanese baseball would give the government some important considerations regarding its sports policies and instill confidence in President William Lai’s (賴清德) proposed establishment of a Ministry of Sports and Physical Education, Tung Li-wen said.
The survey also showed that 67.8 percent of respondents said they identified as Taiwanese, 1.5 percentage points higher than when the question was asked in June.
Asked to choose one identity, Taiwanese or Chinese, 83.3 percent said they identify as Taiwanese and 8.4 percent as Chinese, while 8.3 percent did not choose.
Additionally, 1.5 percent of respondents said they were only Chinese and 27.2 percent said they were both, it showed.
Regarding cross-strait relations, 41.5 percent of respondents said they were optimistic, a 2.7 percentage point increase; 41.3 percent said they were not optimistic, an 8.6 percentage point decrease; and 17.2 percent did not choose either one, the survey showed.
The increase in “Taiwanese” self-identification and decrease in “Chinese” self-identification could be interpreted as a sign of national identity consolidation, Tung said.
Regarding politics, 42 percent of respondents said they supported the DPP, compared with 18.5 percent for the KMT and 11.5 percent for the TPP, all of which showed slight decreases compared with the survey in June.
Fifty-three points two percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Lai’s performance, 26.7 percent said they were dissatisfied and 20.1 percent had no definite opinion, the survey showed.
The highest levels of satisfaction with Lai came from DPP voters, women, those aged 40 or older, and those who live in Tainan, and Yunlin and Chiayi counties.
Dissatisfaction was highest in Taoyuan, and Hsinchu and Miaoli counties, and among men, 20 to 39 year olds, and those who possess specialized degrees, Taiwan Brain Trust chief executive officer Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) said.
Men, those aged 40 or older, people with college degrees and those who live in Taichung, and Nantou and Changhua counties all expressed higher levels of support for the KMT, he added.
The survey was conducted between Dec. 8 and Monday last week through telephone interviews, using a survey pool of people aged 20 or older. It collected 1,081 valid samples and had a margin of error of 2.98 percentage points.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS