Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday.
Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed.
Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed.
Photo: Taipei Times
The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have Chinese IDs or household registration.
“Overall, Taiwanese support the government taking a tougher stance to combat Chinese infiltration and ‘united front’ work,” the association said in a statement. “Most people want healthy cross-strait conduct based on legal frameworks and mutual respect.”
Asked about President William Lai’s (賴清德) address on Tuesday marking one year since his inauguration — in which he said he would instruct his national security team to initiate “a major national security briefing” for the heads of the opposition parties — 22.7 percent said they had “high support” for his comments, 38.9 percent said they “somewhat support” them, 9,1 percent did not support them, 6.9 percent strongly oppose his comments and 22.5 percent had no opinion, the poll showed.
Asked about comments Lai made in an interview in which he compared China to a big company and Taiwan to a small one, saying that “the big company should make an offer if it wants to acquire the small company,” 20.9 percent were “very supportive” of the comments, 25.7 percent were “somewhat supportive,” 17.9 percent were “not supportive,” 24.7 percent “strongly disagreed” and 10.8 percent had no opinion, it showed.
The poll showed that 46.4 percent approved of Lai’s handling of the cross-strait relationship since he took office, while 44.9 percent disapproved.
The government must consolidate public consensus in the face of China’s escalating intimidation of Taiwan, the association said.
The poll, conducted via landline from Tuesday to Thursday, garnered 1,012 valid responses from people aged 20 or older.
It has a margin of error of 3.08 percentage points.
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