Summarized Results of the Public Opinion Survey on the
“Public's Views on Current Cross-Strait Relations”
(May 27 to 30, 2011)
Over 70 percent of the public support the handling of cross-strait exchange issues through institutionalized cross-strait negotiations.
62 percent of the public feel satisfied with the negotiation results of signing 15 cross-strait agreements during the Ma Administration, and over half of the public believe the government has upheld Taiwan's interests.
Over 63 percent of the public believe the improvement of cross-strait relations is conducive to expanding Taiwan's international space.
The overwhelming majority of the public (88.4 percent) still support maintaining the status quo defined in a broader sense (including "Maintaining the status quo and deciding on independence or unification later," "Maintaining the status quo and unification later," "Maintaining the status quo and independence later," and "Maintaining the status quo indefinitely").
I. Survey Background and Methods
To understand the Taiwan people's views on issues related to cross-strait relations, the MAC commissioned the Election Study Center of National Chengchi University, to conduct a telephone interview of adults aged 20 and older 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.
II. Major Findings
(1) Views on institutionalized cross-strait negotiations
72.8 percent of the public support the handling of issues related to cross-strait exchanges through institutionalized negotiations, while 13.6 percent do not support this.
(2) Views on the results of negotiations between the SEF and the ARATS
Over 60 percent of the public (62.2 percent) are satisfied with the negotiation results of 15 agreements signed since President Ma came into office, while 30.2 percent are unsatisfied. Regarding the 15 cross-strait agreements signed during the past Chiang-Chen Talks, over half of the public (51.2 percent) believe that the government has upheld Taiwan's interests, while 36.6 percent of the public believe it has not.
(3) Views on expanding Taiwan's international space
63.7 percent of the public believe that the improvement of cross-strait relations is conducive to expanding Taiwan's international space, while 28.9 percent of the public believe it is not helpful. Furthermore, 60 percent of the public believe that the "flexible diplomacy" policy 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.
(4) Views on the pace of cross-strait exchanges
Regarding the current pace of cross-strait exchanges, the largest percentage of the public (46.1 percent) believe the pace is "just right," while 32.6 percent of the public believe it is "too fast" and 13 percent of the public think it is "too slow."
(5) Views on overall cross-strait relations
Over 50 percent of the public (51.3 percent) believe that cross-strait relations have become "more relaxed" under the Ma Administration, higher than the percentages believing relations are "more tense" (10.2 percent) and "unchanged" (32.3 percent).
(6) Views on unification or independence
The overwhelming majority of the public (88.4 percent) support maintaining the status quo defined in a broader sense (including "Maintaining the status quo and deciding on independence or unification later," "Maintaining the status quo and unification later," "Maintaining the status quo and independence later," and "Maintaining the status quo indefinitely"). Of the six possible positions on this issue, "Maintaining the status quo and deciding on independence or unification later" enjoys the highest level of support (32.6 percent), followed by "Maintaining the status quo indefinitely" (27.2 percent).
(7) Public perception on the attitude of the Mainland government toward Taiwan
53.6 percent of the public believe that the Mainland government's attitude toward the ROC government is "unfriendly," higher than the percentage (31.5 percent) believing it is "friendly." With regard to the Mainland government's attitude toward the Taiwan people, 44.7 percent of the public believe it is "unfriendly," slightly higher than the percentage (40.7 percent) believing it is “friendly.”