MAC public opinion survey: The majority of the public believe that Taiwan should not accept the Olympic torch relay route that aims to dwarf Taiwan
In an effort to address matters of concern to Taiwan’s society, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) released the latest public opinion survey on the issue of bringing the Olympic torch to Taiwan and others. According to the survey, over 60 percent of the Taiwanese people believe that if the torch relay route will dwarf Taiwan’s sovereignty, Taiwan should not accept this kind of arrangement. Moreover, with regard to the issue of bringing the Olympic torch to Taiwan, nearly 65 percent of the public disapprove of Beijing’s plan to include Taiwan as the torch’s first stop of the “domestic route” of the People’s Republic of China and its reference to Taiwan as “China Taipei.”
Regarding whether both sides of the Strait should engage in follow-up negotiations on the issue of bringing the torch to Taiwan, the survey indicated a remarkable split in the public’s views, with 42.7 percent approving and 45.7 percent disapproving the continuation of negotiations. According to the MAC’s analysis, persons approving continued negotiations with China are those who hope that through such negotiations, the factors by which China seeks to dwarf Taiwan politically can be eliminated so as to facilitate the passage of the torch relay through Taiwan.
This survey also consulted the general public’s opinions following the conclusion of the “Economic, Trade and Cultural Forum” held in Beijing by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). Nearly 60 percent (59.2 percent) of the public believe that the consensus reached by the “KMT-CPC Forum” cannot be implemented without government-to-government negotiations. The MAC indicated that this shows that the majority of the public believe any activity similar to this type of forum is unable to truly replace government authority and that China should not avoid conducting normal interactions and negotiations with Taiwan. Otherwise, all of the many preferential measures painstakingly released will simply amount to empty promises that cannot be truly carried out.
With regard to the World Health Organization (WHO) Secretariat’s refusal to process Taiwan’s application for WHO membership on the grounds that “Taiwan is not a sovereign country,” the MAC survey indicated that nearly 85 percent (84.7 percent) of the public believe the way the WHO has handled the application is unreasonable. Moreover, nearly 88 percent (87.7 percent) of the public approve of the government continuing to seek WHO membership under the name of “Taiwan.”
The MAC indicated that Taiwan’s recent bid to seeking WHO membership is mainly aimed at protecting the Taiwanese people’s life, safety, health and sanitation, while also preventing Taiwan from becoming a loophole in the international disease prevention network. Taiwan’s bid for WHO membership is also a basic right jointly shared by all human beings. Excluding Taiwan from the global epidemic disease prevention system only serves to highlight China’s peremptory and irrational suppression of Taiwan. As the meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA) approaches, the MAC expressed that the results of this public opinion survey should make the international community face up to the heartfelt wishes of the Taiwanese people. It is also hoped that more countries will support Taiwan’s bid to join the WHO.
The MAC commissioned Burke Marketing Research Ltd. to conduct a telephone survey of adults aged 20 to 69 in the Taiwan Area from May 4 to 6, 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.
Appendix I: Summarized Results of the Public Opinion Survey (May 4 to 6, 2007) “The Public’s View on Issues Concerning China’s Holding of the 2008 Olympic Games and Cross-Strait Relations”
Appendix II: Percentage Distribution of the Questionnaire on “The Public’s View on Issues Concerning China’s Holding of the 2008 Olympic Games and Cross-Strait Relations”