The majority of respondents in a survey about Taiwan-China relations support maintaining the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait, the Mainland Affairs Council said on Thursday.
In a poll of 1,072 people, 84.9 percent said they supported maintaining the “status quo” between Taiwan and China, while 6.8 percent said that Taiwan should declare independence as soon as possible and 1.6 percent said they supported unification with China.
Asked about President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) comments about cross-strait relations in her Double Ten National Day address, 77.1 percent said they supported her views, while 12.3 percent were against them.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
In the speech, Tsai laid out “four commitments”: that the nation will adhere to a free and democratic constitutional system; that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other; that the nation will resist annexation or encroachment upon its sovereignty; and that the nation’s future must be decided in accordance with the will of Taiwanese.
The survey, commissioned by the council and conducted by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center, also showed that 77.1 percent of respondents said they felt that Beijing was “unfriendly” toward Taipei, while 9 percent held the opposite view.
On Beijing’s attitude toward Taiwanese, 57.9 percent said it was “unfriendly,” while 29.1 percent said it was “friendly,” the council said.
The poll showed that public opinion remains strongly against Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula, with 85.6 percent opposing it and 5.4 percent agreeing with it.
The “one country, two systems” scheme refers to a principle formulated by former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) , in which regions such as Hong Kong and Macau could be part of China while retaining their own economic and administrative systems.
The poll, conducted from Nov. 10-14, had a margin of error of 2.99 percentage points.
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