Mainland Affairs Council?Press Release
December 26, 2007, No. 119
The United States openly opposes Taiwan's holding of a referendum on joining
the United Nations (UN). Moreover, such opposition is voiced increasingly by
higher-level officials. Are the Taiwanese people changing their views regarding
the referendum due to the influence of the United States? According to the latest
public opinion survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), 77.8 percent
of those interviewed respond that China's attempts at pressuring Taiwan through
the United States will not make them oppose the holding of the referendum.
The MAC indicates that the survey results show that the overwhelming majority
of the public does not disapprove of holding the referendum because of the US’s
opposition. This shows that the Taiwanese people hope to demonstrate their unswerving
will to join the UN through the democratic and peaceful process. It also reflects
to a considerable degree the Taiwanese people's dissatisfaction over the unreasonable
situation that Taiwan currently suffers from in the international arena. Although
the US has differing opinions on Taiwan’s planned UN referendum, it is hoped
that the US will not misinterpret the public opinion demonstrated by the Taiwanese
people in their pursuit of international participation, and moreover will not
constantly lean toward China in dealing with cross-strait relations.
The MAC states that China has repeatedly sought to lure and coerce major countries
into expressing opposition to Taiwan's planned UN referendum in an attempt to
suppress the Taiwanese people's expression of opinion regarding Taiwan’s participation
in the international community through the UN referendum. The public opinion
survey indicates that a large majority of the people supports the manifestation
of Taiwan's resolve to join the UN through a referendum. The holding of the
UN referendum has not only received unswerving support of mainstream public
opinion, but it has also accorded with the universal values of peace and democracy.
Since the referendum neither involves any changes to Taiwan's national title
nor makes any unilateral changes in the status quo, it should be respected by
the international community.
Regarding public perception of China's hostility toward Taiwan, the public
opinion survey shows that the percentage of the public believing that the Beijing
authorities are unfriendly to the Taiwanese government and the Taiwanese people
has again reached a new high at 66.8 percent and 50.6 percent, respectively.
The MAC indicates that the joint US-China pressure on Taiwan over the "UN
referendum" issue is the likely reason for having especially made the Taiwanese
people sense China's hostility toward Taiwan. The MAC states that in the face
of Taiwan’s mainstream public opinion, China should employ a new mode of thinking
and adopt new measures to resolve cross-strait hostility. This is the only way
to benefit the development of cross-strait relations. Otherwise, China's so-called
"placing hopes on the Taiwanese people" will only lead to even greater
disappointment.
Regarding the other issues, the public opinion survey results also indicate
that if the development of diplomatic relations causes tensions in cross-strait
relations, 68.3 percent of the public agree that the government should continue
to develop diplomatic relations with other countries. In addition, 77.4 percent
of the public believe that cross-strait transportation links should be opened
conditionally, far exceeding the percentage (16.5 percent) of those who believing
such links should be opened unconditionally. Furthermore, those in favor of
maintaining the status quo in a broader sense exceed 80 percent (86.5 percent),
while those showing disapproval of China’s “one country, two systems” formula
also make up the majority (76.3 percent). The results are consistent with the
trends shown in previous surveys.
The MAC commissioned Burke Marketing Research Ltd. to conduct a telephone survey
of adults aged 20 and over in the Taiwan Area from December 21 to 23, 2007.
A total of 1,067 effective samples were collected, with a sampling error of
about 3 percent based on a 95 percent confidence level.