The latest poll by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center showed a record-high 31.2 percent of respondents support the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), a significant increase from 19.5 percent in 2009.
The center has been conducting the survey on people’s “core political attitudes” since 1992, tracking the trends in people’s stance toward independence or unification, their national identification and party preference.
As of December last year, 31.2 percent of the 9,870 people surveyed said they support the DPP, according to the survey results, which were published on Wednesday.
Support for the DPP has been steadily increasing since 2009 (19.3 percent reaching 24.6 percent in 2010, 24.9 percent in 2011, 25.7 percent in 2012 and 26.7 percent in 2013 and 2014).
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had 22.1 percent of public support, its lowest support rating in the past 10 years. Support for the KMT has steadily declined since 2011, when it garnered a record-high 39.5 percent of public support.
The poll found that 59.5 percent of respondents identified as Taiwanese — slightly lower than the record-high 60.6 percent in 2014.
The poll also found that 33.3 percent of respondents identified themselves as both Taiwanese and Chinese, increasing slightly from the 32.5 percent in 2014. Those identifying as solely Chinese dropped to a historical low of 3.3 percent.
With regard to Taiwanese independence, 22.2 percent of respondents said they support independence — either by moving toward it while maintaining the “status quo” (17.9 percent) or favoring a declaration of independence as soon as possible (4.3 percent) — which was lower than the 23.9 percent in 2014.
The number of people who support unification with China — either by moving toward it while maintaining the “status quo” (8.1 percent) or hoping for unification as soon as possible (1.5 percent) — saw a slight uptick from the historical low of 9.2 percent in 2014 to 9.6 percent.
The poll found that 25.4 percent of respondents want the “status quo” to be maintained indefinitely.
DDP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) unpopular and pro-China policies have made Taiwanese identity stronger than ever, while at the same time sending Chinese identity to a new low.
Lee said that with president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) takeover approaching, it remains to be seen whether China is going to continue to intimidate the new administration and obstruct Taiwan’s participation in international affairs. If it does, the gap between the number of people identifying themselves as Taiwanese and Chinese would continue to grow, Lee said.
He also said that the record-high support for the DPP should be appreciated “with vigilance and fear,” as the public would soon turn its back on the party if it fails to live up to its policy promises.
Additional Reporting by Tseng Wei-chen
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