A majority of Taiwanese said they were happy with the results of the just-concluded cross-strait talks and that the three agreements and one consensus that were reached would have a positive impact on economic development, a poll released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday showed.
The poll found that 62.8 percent of respondents were satisfied with the meeting between Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and his Chinese counterpart, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), in Nanjing late last month. Only 31.7 percent said they were not satisfied, and 5.4 percent did not have an opinion.
Asked whether Taiwan’s interest was upheld during the negotiations, 56.9 percent of respondents agreed, while 33.1 percent disagreed. But when asked whether Taiwan’s sovereignty was denigrated, more than 54 percent said yes, while 39.5 percent said it was not.
The MAC said the high support rates showed public approval because of the government’s effort to take a Taiwan-centric approach.
A total of 66.7 percent said the pacts would have a positive effect on economic development, while 23.7 percent said they would have a negative impact.
Among the three agreements, the joint effort to combat crimes received the highest support, with 78.8 percent of respondents saying they were satisfied with the result. Regular charter flights received 71.8 percent, and 58.8 percent said they were happy with the financial cooperation pact.
The consensus on Chinese investment in Taiwan garnered 64.5 percent support, while 30.9 percent of the respondents said they were not satisfied with it.
Asked whether they approved of the institutionalized negotiation mechanism, 73.8 percent of respondents said yes, while 17.1 percent said no.
The poll, conducted between April 28 and April 30, questioned 1,068 adults across the country.
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