MAC Press Release No. 015
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today (August 18, 2022) announced the results of a routine public opinion survey. Given the recent high-intensity military coercion against Taiwan by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the survey showed that nearly 90% of the public oppose the provocative actions of CCP military aircraft and warships conducting large-scale military exercises and firing multiple missiles around Taiwan (88.3%). Similar percentages disapprove of the CCP's cyberattacks and spread of disinformation (88.7%) while disagreeing with the deliberate suspension of Taiwanese agricultural, fishery, and food imports and of mainland Chinese natural sand exports (82.6%). The percentages of the public considering the CCP unfriendly towards Taiwan government and people reached a record high in over 20 years (80.8% and 66.6%, respectively). These results indicate strong aversion of the mainstream public towards the CCP’s vicious actions including imposing hybrid pressure for days consecutively, undermining the cross-Strait status quo, and encroaching on our national sovereignty and security.
The MAC pointed out that the survey showed that around 80% of the public disagree with the CCP's claim that Taiwan is part of China (76.2%), uphold the view that it is an objective truth and cross-Strait status quo that "the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other" (77.7%), and disapprove of the CCP's targeted sanctions of the so-called "Taiwan independence diehards" and their affiliated organizations and companies (77.8%). The MAC also reiterated that Taiwan has never been under the CCP's jurisdiction, making its so-called "sanctions" illegal, invalid, and running complete counter to the public opinion in Taiwan. Additionally, more than 80% of the public oppose the "one China principle" underpinning the CCP’s white paper and rejected the "one country, two systems" positioning Taiwan as a CCP-ruled local government and special administrative region (84.7%). These results reflect the consistent repudiation of Taiwan people towards the CCP's fallacious political views, aggressive actions, political endgame, and development path set for cross-Strait relations by an authoritarian regime.
The MAC emphasized that given the CCP’s recent coercion against Taiwan, more than 80% of the public support the government's policy position involving seriously condemning and demanding the CCP to immediate stop its provocative advances against Taiwan (80.3%). Similar percentages of the public embrace President Tsai's stance on not acting rashly, not making provocations, not backing down and her call for firmly defending sovereignty and upholding the line of defense for democracy (82.6%). The public also welcome joint efforts with the international community to curb the CCP's military actions and maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait and the region (82.3%). Moreover, the great majority of the public continue to advocate for "maintaining the status quo defined in a broader sense" (86.1%) and believe that Taiwan's future and the development of cross-Strait relations must be decided by the 23 million people of Taiwan (84.7%), maintaining a long-term stable trend. The MAC solemnly advised the CCP again to face up to the public opinion in Taiwan. Facing the CCP's relentless actions disrupting cross-Strait peace, destabilizing regional circumstances, and challenging the international order, Taiwan, as a responsible stakeholder in the region, vow to never compromise or yield to pressure. The government will respond with prudence to the moves of the CCP and dynamics of the situation, strengthen our self-defense capabilities, and staunchly safeguard our national security and Taiwan's overall interests.
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 August 10 to 14, 2022. A total of 1,076 valid samples were obtained, with a sampling error of plus or minus 2.99% at a 95% level of confidence.