More than 75 percent of Taiwanese support President William Lai’s (賴清德) stance on cross-strait relations as outlined in his inaugural address, a survey by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) showed on Thursday.
Of the more than 1,000 respondents, 75.1 percent supported Lai’s statement that the new administration would uphold the “four commitments,” and neither yield nor provoke China, while maintaining the “status quo,” the MAC said.
The “four commitments” were laid out by Lai’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), in her Double Ten National Day speech in 2021, including ensuring that “the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other.”
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
More than 70 percent of respondents also disagreed with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) response to Lai’s inaugural address, MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said during Thursday’s press conference.
“The CCP’s statement was that ‘the Mainland and Taiwan both belong to one China; Taiwan is part of China; oppose Taiwan independence and foreign interference,’” Liang said, adding that “76 percent of people do not agree with this [response].”
The survey, commissioned by the MAC, was conducted by market research company Ipsos from Thursday to Sunday last week through telephone interviews with adults aged 20 and older in Taiwan.
MAC said that 1,073 valid samples were collected, with a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.99 percentage points.
Earlier on Wednesday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Director Song Tao (宋濤) said that Taiwan belongs to all Chinese people, and it is an issue involving China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and must be decided by all Chinese people.
Asked about Song’s statement, Liang, quoting the MAC survey, said that 88.5 percent of respondents support Lai’s stance that “the future of the Republic of China, Taiwan, should be decided by its 23 million people.”
The biggest issue between the two sides is the “difference in systems,” Liang said in response to Song saying that the different systems across the Taiwan Strait are neither an obstacle to unification nor an excuse for separation.
These differences have led to various difficulties and a stalemate in cross-strait relations, Liang said.
“I hope that the CCP can understand how precious Taiwan’s democratic system is,” he said.
Liang also mentioned the “Hong Kong 47” trial, in which a Hong Kong court on Thursday found 14 pro-democracy activists guilty of subversion for organizing an unofficial election.
“The events happening in Hong Kong are being closely observed by the people of Taiwan,” Liang said. “The difference in systems across the Strait is indeed the biggest issue we currently face.”
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