A poll conducted by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) showed yesterday that 72 percent of Taiwanese are unclear about the meaning of the so-called “1992 consensus.” The consensus — which President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) claim to be an agreement reached by Taiwan and China in 1992 that means “one China, with each side having its own interpretation” — was refuted by DPP Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ying-wen (蔡英文) in her China policy unveiled last week.
The poll showed 63.7 percent do not accept the “1992 consensus,” which is based on the “one China” principle and that only 13.8 percent agree with Ma’s statement that “One China means the Republic of China [ROC].”
Saying that the poll showed 69.3 percent believe “Taiwan is the ROC, and the ROC is Taiwan,” and that “Taiwan equates to the ROC,” DPP spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said the results of the poll suggested the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan is that “Taiwan is the ROC.”
Another DPP spokesperson Kang Yu-cheng (康裕成) said the results clearly suggested that the “1992 consensus” is not a consensus supported by Taiwanese, but rather a “KMT-Chinese Communist Party consensus.”
Tsai maintains that the support for the “status quo” remains the main “Taiwan consensus,” a position that can be affirmed through the democratic process and should be used as a precondition in relations with China. In the poll, 65.5 percent of respondents agreed with this position, while 19.9 percent disagreed.
The poll was conducted on Thursday and Friday, with 1,025 samples collected. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percent.
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