Date: March 21, 2019
MAC Press Release No. 34
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) announced the results of its latest routine public opinion survey today (March 21, 2019). The survey indicated that nearly 80% of the public disapprove mainland China's "one country, two systems" (79%), and more than 80% of the people oppose Beijing's use of force against Taiwan (83.9%). In addition, nearly 90% of the public believe that Taiwan's future and the development of cross-Strait relations should be decided by the 23 million people of Taiwan (87.7%). A similar percentage support the government's position that cross-Strait related exchanges must be held with equality and dignity, without political preconditions, and in compliance with the law (83.9%). The MAC believes that the survey findings provide concrete evidence of public opposition to Beijing's recent divisive united front actions.
The MAC stated that the people of Taiwan will never accept the "one country, two systems model for Taiwan" and "democratic consultations" proposed under "Xi's five points," which initiate the unification process with Taiwan Furthermore, the government has proposed countermeasures to steadfastly safeguard the nation's sovereignty and security and Taiwan's democratic system. The survey showed that over 60% of the public disapprove Beijing's approach of deliberately ruling out official dialogue and suggesting that political consultations be held with some political parties and individuals in Taiwan (63.7%). Nearly 50% of the public support President Tsai Ing-wen's seven guidelines to counter the "one country, two systems model for Taiwan" (49.8%). Over 70% of the public disapprove the Mainland government's demand that Taiwan accept the "one China principle" as a precondition to engage in political negotiations (73%). Moreover, the mainstream public supports the government's approach of cooperating with like-minded democracies to promote peace, stability, and development in the Taiwan Strait and the larger region (74.1%).
On the high-profile issue of cross-Strait political agreement, the survey found that more than 80% of the people agree that the government should have more comprehensive legislative and supervisory mechanisms in place (83.3%) if the two sides are to hold political consultations and sign agreements. About 60% of the people believe that the results of cross-Strait political negotiations need to be approved by the public through referendums (65.4%), as well as reviewed and approved by the Legislative Yuan (59.3%). The MAC stressed that the government will soon establish robust mechanisms to defend democracy with high supervision standards and thresholds to handle procedures related to cross-Strait political agreements. It will also begin to push forth legal amendments and expedite completion of related work.
Regarding other cross-Strait issues long observed by the MAC, a stable long-term trend can be seen as the great majority of the public continue to advocate their support for “maintaining the status quo defined in a broader sense" (87.1%). As for views on the pace of cross-Strait exchanges, 41.7% of the public believe it to be "just right," followed by the percentages believing the pace to be "too fast" and "too slow" at 11.9% and 32.3%, respectively. The MAC stressed that the Republic of China is a sovereign state. The government, in line with President Tsai's seven guidelines, will strengthen efforts to explain our policies at home and abroad, to further expose Beijing's negative actions and political plots against Taiwan, to staunchly defend national dignity, and to uphold the universal values of democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law.
The MAC commissioned the Election Study Center of National Chengchi University to conduct a telephone survey of adults aged 20 and over in Taiwan from March 13 to 17, 2019. A total of 1,093 valid samples were collected, with a sampling error of ±2.96% at a 95% confidence level.