A vast majority of Taiwanese disapprove of China's bid to change the cross-strait status quo by passing its "Anti-Secession" Law two years ago and believe that the people of Taiwan should be the only ones to have a say in determining the nation's future, a new think tank survey shows.
More than 90 percent of respondents disagreed with China's attempts to change the cross-strait status with the law, while nearly 80 percent think the Taiwanese should be the only decision makers in determining Taiwan's future, the survey found.
The Taiwan Thinktank conducted the poll from last Friday through Sunday to see if there had been a change in opinion since Beijing enacted the law two years ago today and gathered a total of 1,067 valid responses.
According to the results, 91.2 percent of respondents said they opposed the enactment of the "Anti-Secession" Law, 80.2 percent disagreed with China's claim that the law met the interests of Taiwanese and 79.5 percent said it was up to the people of Taiwan to determine the nation's future.
Only 14.5 percent of respondents believed that the people of China should also have a say in Taiwan's future.
"The result showed that the `Anti-Secession' Law has not alienated the people of Taiwan, it has provoked Taiwan to have a more consolidated consensus on its attitude toward China," said Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), director of Soochow University's department of political science, at the press conference to announce the results yesterday.
"Beijing got the reverse of what it wanted from the legislation," Lo said.
Tung Li-wen (
"This law was in response to internal pressure in China on the `Taiwan issue' yet Beijing has been unable to define what [Taiwan's] independence is," he said.
The poll found 67.1 percent of respondents disagreed with the statement that China had actively contacted Taiwanese opposition parties while refusing to talk with with Taiwan's government.
Almost half of respondents, 47.2 percent, said the law had a bad influence on cross-strait relations, while 33 percent said it had not had any influence.
"This is a result of China using the carrot and the stick at the same time," said Hsu Yung-ming (
Meanwhile, a second opinion poll released by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said about half of its respondents want to see Taiwan independent.
The poll was conducted last Wednesday and Thursday and received 1,034 valid responses.
It found that 50.4 percent of respondents favor independence while 33.9 percent support unification with China. Those were the only two options offered.
As for national identity, 68 percent said they considered themselves Taiwanese while 16 percent said they identified with China.
"This is a `gift' to China from the Taiwanese people on the eve of the second anniversary of the `Anti-Secession' Law," DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
SUPPORT: Arms sales to NATO Plus countries such as Japan, South Korea and Israel only have to be approved by the US Congress if they exceed US$25m The US should amend a law to add Taiwan to the list of “NATO Plus” allies and streamline future arms sales, a US commission said on Tuesday in its annual report to the US Congress. The recommendation was made in the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which contained chapters on US-China economic and trade ties, security relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the chapter on Taiwan, the commission urged the US Congress to “amend the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to include Taiwan on the list of ‘NATO Plus’ recipients,” referring to
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) said she would tender her resignation following criticism of her handling of alleged bullying by Ministry of Labor Workforce Development Agency branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容) resulting in the death of an employee. The ministry yesterday gave Hsieh two demerits and said she is subject to review by the Disciplinary Court. The severest possible punishment would be her removal from office and being barred from government jobs indefinitely. Workforce Development Agency Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) also received a major demerit and was transferred to another position. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) issued a formal apology
RSS