MAC: Public Opinion Survey Shows High Support for the Results of the Negotiations at the Seventh Chiang-Chen Talks
November 2, 2011, No. 092
During the Seventh Chiang-Chen Talks, the two sides signed the Cross-Strait Nuclear Power Safety Cooperation Agreement, and reached joint opinions on achieving phased results of the Cross-Strait Investment Protection Agreement as well as strengthening industrial cooperation. The latest public opinion survey conducted by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) indicates that as high as over 80 percent (84.8 percent) of the public support the government's continued handling of issues related to cross-strait exchanges through the mechanism of institutionalized negotiations.
The MAC states that the results of this survey indicate that over 70 percent (71.3 percent) of the public are satisfied with the results of the negotiations on the Cross-Strait Nuclear Power Safety Cooperation Agreement and believe that cross-strait exchanges and cooperation on nuclear power safety information and experience (74.1 percent) and an emergency reporting mechanism (77.2 percent) are conducive to ensuring the safety of the people's life and property and the environmental ecology.
Due to the broad scope of the Cross-Strait Investment Protection Agreement, the government is proceeding with negotiations under the principle that "it is better to sign a good agreement than an early one" to ensure the rights, interests, and personal safety of the Taiwan people investing in the Mainland, an approach supported by nearly 80 percent (78.5 percent) of the public. Moreover, over 80 percent (82.9 percent) of the public support continued negotiations between the government and mainland China on the Cross-Strait Investment Protection Agreement.
Regarding the effects on Taiwan’s interests and national sovereignty brought by the 16 agreements signed at the institutionalized talks held between the two sides of the Strait during the past more than three years, the survey indicates that over 60 percent (60.9 percent) of the public believe that these agreements have protected Taiwan's interests and 56.3 percent believe they have upheld Taiwan’s national sovereignty.
The MAC commissioned the China Credit Information Service to conduct a telephone survey of adults aged 20 and over in the Taiwan Area from October 22 to 24, 2011. A total of 1,072 effective samples were collected, with a sampling error of 2.99 percent based on a 95 percent confidence level.