The majority of the public approves the negotiation results of the Fifth Chiang-Chen Talks
The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and the Cross-Strait
Agreement on Intellectual Property Right Protection and Cooperation were signed
at the Fifth Chiang-Chen Talks held last week. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC)
announced today (July 6, 2010) the results of its latest public opinion survey.
The survey indicates that 73 percent of the public have a positive assessment of
the two agreements, and that nearly 80 percent (79.3%) of the public approve the
continuation of institutionalized negotiations to resolve issues related to cross-strait
exchanges.
The MAC stated that over 60 percent (61.1%) of the public are
satisfied with the overall results of the ECFA negotiations and also approve of
the non-tariff access for 18 Taiwan agricultural and fishery products to the Mainland
market (63.6%). Furthermore, over half of the public (53.1%) believe the government
has protected Taiwan's vulnerable industries.
Regarding the benefits of the ECFA, the survey figures indicate
that the large majority of the public (62.6%) believes that the Agreement will help
Taiwan negotiate and sign free trade agreements with other countries and that it
also has a positive influence on the long-term development of Taiwan's economy (59.2%).
Regarding the Cross-Strait Agreement on Intellectual Property Right Protection and
Cooperation, over 70 percent of the public (73.1%) feel satisfied.
The MAC went on to say that, on the widely concerned issue of
how the negotiation results would affect Taiwan's interests and sovereignty, the
survey indicates that 66.8 percent of the public believe that the two agreements
uphold Taiwan's interests, and 58.9 percent of the public think that the agreements
do not dwarf Taiwan's national sovereignty. The MAC stated that the public opinion
survey results show that the outcome of the cross-strait reciprocal negotiations
is approved by the majority of the people of Taiwan. Moreover, ensuring that the
benefits of the negotiations are jointly shared by all the people also has been
the unwavering goal of the government's efforts. On this point, the majority of
the people also expressed approval.
The MAC commissioned China Credit Information Service to conduct
a telephone survey of adults aged 20 or older in the Taiwan Area from July 2 to
4, 2010. A total of 1,114 effective samples were collected, with a sampling error
of about 2.94 percent based on a 95 percent confidence level.
Appendix Ι:
Summarized Results of the Survey on Public Views on the Fifth Chiang-Chen Talks
(July 2 ~ July 4, 2010)
Appendix II:
Percentage Distribution of the Survey on Public Views on the Fifth Chiang-Chen Talks
(July 2 ~ July 4, 2010)