MAC public survey: If China stops dwarfing Taiwan, 78 percent of the Taiwanese people agree to allow the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch to come to Taiwan
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today (September 7, 2007) released the latest public opinion survey on the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch relay route through Taiwan. According to the survey, if China no longer dwarfs Taiwan’s status, 78.5 percent of the Taiwanese people agree to let the Olympic torch to come to Taiwan. Moreover, 73.2 percent of the public support the government to continue to negotiate with Beijing so that the Olympic torch can come to Taiwan.
The MAC indicated that when the Beijing side announced the Olympic torch relay route in the end of April this year, Taipei was treated by China as the first stop on China’s “domestic route.” In addition, our side was then referred to as “China Taipei.” Although the Taiwanese government could not accept such a deliberate attempt by China to dwarf Taiwan's sovereignty, it has reserved some space for future negotiations and has continued to communicate with the Chinese side through the existing channels. This survey also indicated that if China no longer refers to our side’s Olympic committee and Taiwan’s team as “China Taipei” in Chinese moniker, but “Chinese Taipei,” then more than 70 percent (72.7 percent) of the people agree to let the Olympic torch to come to Taiwan. Also, if Beijing categorizes Taipei City as one of the cities on the overseas torch relay route, nearly 60 percent (58 percent) of the people agree to let the Olympic torch to come to Taiwan.
The MAC indicated that it can be observed from the survey results that if the Beijing side can respect the Olympic spirit and abide by the agreement reached in the past between the national Olympic committees of both sides of the Strait, then the majority of the Taiwanese people will welcome the Olympic torch to come to Taiwan, under the precondition that Taiwan's sovereignty will not be dwarfed. Based on the latest Taiwanese public opinion regarding the Olympic torch relay route through Taiwan, the MAC believes that China should show goodwill and sincerity and eliminate all the political arrangements aimed at dwarfing Taiwan's sovereignty, as well as show basic respect for Taiwan's equal participation in Olympic activities. Only in this way will it be feasible to facilitate benign cross-strait interactions.
The MAC commissioned the China Credit Information Service (CCIS) to conduct a telephone survey of adults aged between 20 and 69 in the Taiwan Area from September 3 to 4, 2007. A total of 1,070 effective samples were collected, with a sampling error of about 3 percent based on a 95 percent confidence level.