MAC public opinion survey: Cross-strait direct transport links are conducive to the enhancement of Taiwan’s competitiveness
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) announced on December 25, 2008 the results of its latest public opinion survey, which shows that the majority of the people have given a positive assessment of the government’s promotion of cross-strait direct transport links. According to the survey results, almost 70 percent (67.9 percent) of the people agree that the cross-strait direct transport links are conducive to the enhancement of Taiwan’s competitiveness. At the same time, more than 60 percent of the public (61.7 percent) believe that the direct transport links have a “positive impact” on Taiwan’s economic development.
The sea and air transport agreements were signed during the Second Chiang-Chen Talks, and the cross-strait direct transport links were officially activated on December 15. In order to understand the people’s assessment regarding the government’s promotion of cross-strait direct transport links, the MAC conducted a public opinion survey last weekend. The survey results show that the people believe that the cross-strait direct transport links have a positive impact on Taiwan’s economy. More than half of the public (54.8 percent) believe that the direct transport links are conducive to attracting inflows of Taiwanese capital and investments in Taiwan by foreign firms. If given the chance to travel to the Mainland, more than 80 percent of the public (80.1 percent) say they will opt to take the charter flights.
As to the other issues related to cross-strait relations, the survey results also reveal that with regard to the public’s perception of the mainland Chinese government’s attitude toward the ROC government, there are roughly equal proportions of respondents who believe that the mainland Chinese government is friendly (48.2 percent) and hostile (49.4 percent) to the ROC government. Moreover, 60 percent of the public think that cross-strait relations are now more relaxed than in the previous year. Generally speaking, the people are extremely confident in the government’s ability to maintain cross-strait peace and stability. The MAC indicated that the people have perceived the reconciliatory trend in cross-strait relations, and it is believed that such a trend will constitute a foundation for peace and development in the region.
As to the people’s attitude toward unification vs. independence, the MAC indicated that the vast majority of the public (91.8 percent) advocate maintaining the status quo defined in a broader sense and that this figure has reached a record high.
The MAC commissioned the China Credit Information Service Ltd (CCIS) to conduct the public opinion survey of adults aged 20 to 69 in the Taiwan Area from December 19 to 21, 2008. A total of 1,068 effective samples were collected, with a sampling error of about three percent based on a 95 percent confidence level.