MAC: The government's Mainland policy is consistent with the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan. The public affirms the government's policy of allowing Mainland tourists to travel independently to Taiwan
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) announces today (April 12, 2012) the results of its latest public opinion survey. The survey indicates that 70 percent of the public support the government's policy of maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait under the framework of the ROC Constitution and the principle of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force." In addition, 71 percent of the public support the continued handling of cross-strait exchange issues through institutionalized negotiations, demonstrating that the government's Mainland policy is consistent with the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan.
On the policy of allowing independent travel to Taiwan by Mainland tourists, as high as 72 percent of the public believe this policy is beneficial to Taiwan's economic development. Moreover, nearly 70 percent (68.2 percent) of the public support the government's promotion of the policy to allow Mainland tourists to travel independently to Taiwan. The MAC notes that the government has begun allowing residents of the three Mainland pilot cities—Beijing, Shanghai, and Xiamen—to travel independently to Taiwan since June 2011, and by the end of March this year, over 58,000 Mainland tourists had traveled to Taiwan under this program. In order to expand the benefits of the policy, 10 more Mainland pilot cities will be added to the list this year in two phases. Furthermore, the daily quota for independent travel to Taiwan by Mainland visitors will also be raised to 1,000 from the current 500. The survey indicates that the government's approach of "promoting while keeping watch" and advancing the policy of allowing Mainland tourists to visit Taiwan independently in an orderly and gradual manner can promote the development of Taiwan's tourism industry and is supported and affirmed by the majority of the public.
Regarding other cross-strait issues long observed by the MAC, the survey indicates that the great majority of the public (86.2 percent) still advocate "maintaining the status quo defined in a broader sense," a figure that has remained highly stable. As for the current pace of cross-strait exchanges, the highest percentage of the public (45 percent) still believe the pace is "just right," followed by the percentages believing it is "too fast" (32.6 percent) and "too slow" (11.9 percent).
The MAC commissioned the Election Study Center of National Chengchi University to conduct a telephone survey of adults aged 20 and over in the Taiwan Area from March 30 to April 2, 2012. A total of 1,079 effective samples were collected, with a sampling error of 2.98 percent based on a 95 percent confidence level.