In a poll published yesterday by the pan-green-leaning Taiwan New Constitution Foundation, 80.2 percent of respondents said that Taiwan and China are separate nations, while 72.1 percent said they supported efforts to create a constitution that better reflects the nation’s political status.
When asked about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) remarks on Jan. 2, 65.3 percent of respondents said they would reject unification with China under the “one country, two systems framework” proposed by Xi, the foundation said.
Of the respondents, 53.7 percent said that they support maintaining the cross-strait “status quo,” 31 percent said they support Taiwanese independence and 11.4 percent said they support unification with China, the foundation said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Should the “status quo” become untenable, 64.1 percent of respondents said they would support a formal declaration of Taiwanese independence, while 24.7 percent said they would support unification, the foundation said.
Regarding identity, 57.2 percent of respondents said that they are Taiwanese, while 3.1 percent said that they are exclusively Chinese and 38.2 percent said they are both Taiwanese and Chinese, it said.
If they had to choose one, 82.9 percent said they would identify as Taiwanese, the foundation said.
It added that 57 percent of respondents said they were unaware that the Republic of China Constitution describes unifying “China” as a national political goal.
Article 4 of the Constitution states: “The territory of the ROC according to its existing national boundaries shall not be altered except by resolution of the National Assembly,” which is often deemed to imply the ROC’s sovereignty over China, Mongolia and Tibet.
However, in 1993 the Council of Grand Justices issued its Interpretation No. 328, saying that the Constitution did not enumerate the constituent parts of the territory, so its delimitation “is a significant political question ... beyond the reach of judicial review.”
“Although Taiwanese society is peaceful and rather prosperous, it has not been able address the fundamental issue of national identity,” said Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏), the foundation’s creator and a former presidential adviser.
“According to the poll, a majority believes we need our own constitution,” Koo said.
“At her inauguration ceremony [in 2016], President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) sang a national anthem that contains the words ‘our party.’ Does she not understand the contradiction?” he asked.
The poll showed that about 80 percent of respondents said Taiwan is a sovereign and independent nation, and that its existence is separate from China, foundation deputy executive Raymond Sung (宋承恩) said.
“Taiwanese national identity is a nonpartisan issue and that is particularly evident among young people,” he said.
Meanwhile, 20.2 percent of respondents said that they “strongly approved” of a potential presidential run by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), while 21.9 percent said they “somewhat approved,” 22.7 percent said they “somewhat disapproved,” 26.6 percent said they “strongly disapproved” and 8.6 percent had no opinion, the foundation said.
Ko had the highest approval rating among respondents in their 20s and 30s at 58.8 percent, while 58.3 percent of people aged 40 or older disapproved of a potential candidacy and 32.6 percent said they approved, it said.
In a hypothetical Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential primary, former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) was most favored with 45 percent, followed by Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平, 28.5 percent) and KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義, 7.6 percent), the foundation said.
In a theoretical Democratic Progressive Party race, former premier William Lai (賴清德) led with 50.8 percent to Tsai’s 24.7 percent, it said.
The poll, which was conducted from Friday to Sunday last week, collected 1,067 valid samples and had a margin of error of three percentage points.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
RSS