MAC Press Release No. 010
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today (September 9, 2021) announced the results of a routine public opinion survey. The survey indicated that more than 80% of the public support President Tsai Ing-wen's emphasis that Taiwan's only option is to become stronger, more united, and more determined to defend itself (83.9%). A similar percentage also support the government's approach of strengthening national security and self-defense capabilities (81.3%) and its pledge to safeguard national sovereignty and Taiwan's democracy (82.8%). The MAC highlighted that the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan opposes the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) pressure campaigns against Taiwan in political, military, and other aspects while approving the government's cross-Strait policy stance of firmly safeguarding sovereignty and security.
The MAC stated that the survey showed that nearly 90% of the public oppose the CCP's "one country, two systems" (87.5%), diplomatic suppression of Taiwan (89.4%), and repeated use of economic and diplomatic means to pressure Lithuania for the establishment of a Taiwanese representative office (88.8%). In light of the CCP's deliberate manipulation of the issue pertaining to security commitments to Taiwan from the international community, about 70% of the respondents expressed disapproval (70.4%). Moreover, nearly 90% of the public support the government to continue cooperating with like-minded countries such as the US to ensure the peaceful and stable status quo in the Taiwan Strait (88.6%).
The MAC stressed that, the CCP has been seeking to attract and win over Taiwan's high-tech talent; in response, more than 60% of the respondents support the amendments of the government’s related laws aimed at tightening restrictions on travel to mainland China by those who possess or have access to national security related core technologies (64.2%). A similar percentage support the government to conduct strict review of entry permit applications by mainland Chinese personnel to safeguard national security once the pandemic abates and its border reopens (64.0%). Regarding other issues long observed by the MAC, the great majority of the public continue to advocate "maintaining the status quo defined in a broader sense" (85.4%) and believe the CCP authorities’ attitude towards the government and people of Taiwan is unfriendly (73.0% and 57.9%, respectively). More than 80% of the people support the position that the future of Taiwan and the development of cross-Strait relations must be decided by Taiwan's 23.5 million people (85.1%), maintaining a long-term stable trend.
The MAC stated that the international community has recently attached great importance to the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. As a responsible stakeholder in the region, Taiwan is committed to maintaining the status quo of cross-Strait peace and will firmly defend national sovereignty and security. It will also continue to deepen collaboration with friendly partners who share common values. The MAC called on the Beijing authorities to stop intimidating or suppressing Taiwan; face up to Taiwan's proposal of "peace, reciprocity, democracy, and dialogue" as the guiding principles for cross-Strait interaction; and deal with cross-Strait issues pragmatically to create favorable conditions for benign exchanges.
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 September 2 to 6, 2021. A total of 1,073 valid samples were obtained, with a sampling error of plus or minus 2.99% at a 95% level of confidence.