The latest poll by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center showed a record-low 9.1 percent of respondents support unification with China, and a record-low 3.3 percent regard themselves as Chinese.
The poll is part of a study that has been ongoing since 1992 on political attitudes, including on the unification-independence issue, national identity and political party preference.
The latest figures, gathered last month, showed that 59 percent of respondents identify themselves as Taiwanese, a slight drop from 60.6 percent in December last year.
The poll found 33.7 percent of respondents said they are both Taiwanese and Chinese, increasing slightly from 32.5 percent last year, and those identifying themselves as solely Chinese dropped to a historical low of 3.3 percent.
The poll found 21.1 percent of respondents said they support Taiwanese independence or would favor an immediate declaration of independence, lower than 23.9 percent last year.
The number of people who support unification or lean toward immediate unification reached a historical low of 9.1 percent.
Support for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has risen from 26.7 percent last year to a record-high 29.7 percent, while support for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) dropped from 22.9 percent last year to 21 percent, its lowest since 2003.
Support for the People First Party increased from 2.7 percent last year to 3.9 percent this year, the highest since 2006.
Saying that the data showed the long-term tendency of Taiwanese core attitudes and identifications, DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said the percentage of people who identify themselves as Taiwanese has soared from 48.4 percent in 2008 to 59 percent this year due to a series of pro-China policies launched by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) since he took office in 2008.
The number of people who regard themselves as Chinese has fallen from 4 percent in 2008 to 3.3 percent this year and has yet to hit the bottom, which shows that the Taiwanese do not want Taiwan to be a part of China, Lee said.
Support for the KMT has plummeted from the historical high of 39.5 percent in 2011 to 21 percent this year, while support for the DPP has steadily climbed from 19.5 percent in 2009 to 29.7 percent this year, he said.
The rise and fall are the results of the KMT’s poor performance and the DPP’s ability to put forward clear policies and define the direction of reform, such as the proposal of developing renewable resources to bring about a nuclear-free homeland and an elaborated platform of the long-term care to provide for the aging population, he said.
However, the KMT and the Ma administration have turned their backs on public opinion, which is evident in a forceful implementation of a set of high-school curriculum guidelines that critics said are unprofessional and historically incorrect, while the government insists on pressing charges against students who stormed the headquarters of the Ministry of Education in Taipei on Thursday to protest against the curriculum, Lee said.
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS