Public support for maintaining the “status quo” forever across the Taiwan Strait has been growing over the past three years, a survey released yesterday showed.
Asked about their view on Taiwanese independence or unification with China, 44.3 percent of respondents supported “forever maintaining the status quo,” up from 42 percent and 40.8 percent last year and 2021 respectively, a poll by the World United Formosans for Independence and the Taiwan National Security Association showed.
Only 3.8 percent of respondents supported “independence as soon as possible,” while 0.7 percent supported “unification as soon as possible,” it showed.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The trend suggests that Taiwanese have become “more conservative” amid heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait and around the world, said Chen Kuan-hsien (陳冠憲), a researcher at the association.
Another 35.8 percent of respondents supported “maintaining the status quo while working toward independence,” down from more than 40 percent in the past two years, while 11.5 percent supported “maintaining the status quo while working toward unification,” an increase from lower than 10 percent in the past two years, it showed.
The results align with changes in respondents’ perceptions about identity — fewer people identified as “only Taiwanese” and more identified themselves as “only citizens of the Republic of China,” Taiwan Statebuilding Party chairman Wang Hsing-huan (王興煥) said.
Taiwan New Constitution Foundation deputy director Sung Cheng-en (宋承恩) warned that China is determined to “take back” Taiwan and is focused on political warfare and propaganda to influence Taiwan’s elections in January.
Beijing’s attempts might include increasing its political and economic pressure on Taiwan and using the Internet to sway public opinion, he said.
China is “nurturing political agents” in Taiwan to help spread US skepticism narratives or rumors that the Taiwanese economy is reliant on China and that China’s system is superior, he said.
Asked whether the government should pro-actively advocate for establishing diplomatic relations with the US, 29.5 percent of respondents strongly agreed, 17.9 percent moderately agreed and 30.5 percent took a neutral stance, the poll showed.
On forming a military alliance with the US, 41.8 percent of respondents strongly agreed, 17.5 percent moderately agreed and 21.3 percent took a neutral stance, it showed.
The Focus Survey Research was commissioned to conduct the survey, collecting 1,084 valid samples from Monday to Wednesday last week, half by landline and half by mobile phone.
It had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.98 percentage points.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS