MAC: The public highly affirms the operation of the mechanism for institutionalized cross-strait negotiations and identifies with the government's position of the "1992 Consensus — one China with respective interpretations," with “one China” meaning the Republic of China
Date: 2011-09-25
Press Release No. 069
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) announces today the results of its latest public opinion survey. The survey indicates that the public highly affirms the mechanism for institutionalized cross-strait negotiations, with nearly 80 percent of the public supporting the handling of cross-strait exchange issues through institutionalized negotiations. Moreover, as high as 74.8 percent of the public support the government's Mainland policy over the past more than three years which maintains the status quo in the Taiwan Strait under the framework of the ROC Constitution and is in line with the principle of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force," demonstrating that the government's Mainland policy is on the correct course.
On the high profile issue of the "1992 Consensus,” the survey results indicate that nearly 50 percent (49.4 percent) of the public identify with the government's position on the "'1992 Consensus — one China with respective interpretations,' with “one China” meaning the Republic of China." Moreover, 48.4 percent of the public approve the government's promotion of institutionalized cross-strait negotiations on the foundation of the "1992 Consensus — one China with respective interpretations." Furthermore, over 50 percent (51.7 percent) of the public disagree with the statement that "the 1992 Consensus is a consensus between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC)." The MAC states that the survey results reflect that the Ma Administration's position over the past more than three years of maintaining the cross-strait status quo of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" under the framework of the ROC Constitution and promoting institutionalized cross-strait negotiations on the basis of the "1992 Consensus — one China with respective interpretations" has led to positive development in cross-strait relations. It is the correct course and has earned the majority public support in Taiwan.
Regarding other cross-strait issues long observed by the MAC, the survey indicates that the great majority of the public (87.2 percent) still advocate "maintaining the status quo defined in a broader sense," a figure that has remained highly stable. As for the current pace of opening up cross-strait exchanges, the highest percentage of the public (46.4 percent) still believe the pace is "just right," followed by the percentages believing it is "too fast" (29.5 percent) and "too slow" (14.4 percent). As to views on overall cross-strait relations, over 50 percent of the public (55.2 percent) believe that relations under the Ma Administration have become "more relaxed," higher than the percentages believing relations are "unchanged" (30.2 percent) and "more tense" (9.0 percent). This indicates that the majority of the public affirms the government's current Mainland policy and believes it has eased past tension in cross-strait relations.
The MAC commissioned the Election Study Center of National Chengchi University to conduct a telephone survey of adults aged 20 and over in the Taiwan Area from September 2 to 5, 2011. A total of 1,069 effective samples were collected, with a sampling error of 3 percent based on a 95 percent confidence level.