Mainland Affairs Council

 The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) announced today the results of its latest public opinion survey. The survey indicated that the majority of the public positively appraises institutionalized cross-strait negotiations, with over 70 percent of the public supporting the handling of issues related to cross-strait exchanges through institutionalized cross-strait negotiations. Regarding the results of signing 15 agreements during negotiations between the two sides, 62 percent of the public feel satisfied and over half of the public believe that the government has upheld Taiwan's interests.

 The survey also looked at the public's views on the issue of Taiwan's international participation. Over 63 percent of the public believe that the improvement of cross-strait relations is conducive to expanding Taiwan's international space. The survey found that 60 percent of the public believe that the policy of "flexible diplomacy" promoted by President Ma since he took office, resulting in the invitation for Taiwan to participate in the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer, is conducive to expanding Taiwan's international space.

 With regard to other cross-strait issues long and regularly observed by the MAC, the survey indicated that, the great majority of the public (88.4 percent) still advocate "maintaining the status quo defined in a broader sense," a figure that has remained highly stable. Regarding the current pace of cross-strait exchanges, the highest percentage of the public (46.1 percent) still believe the pace is "just right," followed by the percentages believing it is "too fast" (32.6 percent) and "too slow" (13.0 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 May 27 to 30, 2011. A total of 1,099 effective samples were collected, with a sampling error of about 2.96 percent based on a 95 percent confidence level.