Most people supported President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) stance on cross-strait affairs in her speech on Double Ten National Day, the results of an Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association survey released on Monday showed.
The random survey of 1,081 people asked two questions about a specific part of Tsai’s speech on Oct. 10, in which she laid out “four commitments.”
“Let us here renew with one another our enduring commitment to a free and democratic constitutional system; our commitment that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China should not be subordinate to each other; our commitment to resist annexation or encroachment upon our sovereignty; and our commitment that the future of the Republic of China (Taiwan) must be decided in accordance with the will of the Taiwanese people,” she said.
Photo: CNA
The poll showed that 67.9 percent of respondents supported Tsai’s “four commitments,” 12.3 percent did not and 19.8 percent were either unsure of the question or did not respond.
On Tsai’s proposition that “the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China should not be subordinate to each other,” 70.6 percent supported the statement, 15 percent did not and 14.4 percent either refused to comment or were unsure of the question.
When it came to Tsai’s cross-strait policies as a whole, 47.7 percent expressed satisfaction, 24.3 percent did not and 28 percent either did not have an answer or had no comment.
The survey also asked about the responses from China to Tsai’s speech.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) criticized her statements, saying that Tsai was promoting Taiwanese independence and “splitting” history.
The TAO said that Tsai had been promoting a “two- state” theory.
The poll showed that 19.4 percent agreed with the TAO’s statements, 54.9 percent disagreed and 25.7 percent did not provide an answer.
In regards to China’s pledge for peaceful unification under the “one country, two systems” principle, as well as its insistence that both sides observe the so-called “1992 consensus,” 13.8 percent agreed, 69.5 percent did not and 16.6 percent either did not provide an answer or had no comment.
The survey was conducted between from Friday to Sunday.
It had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin error of 2.98 percent.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
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