TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese internet users appear more interested in Taiwan's NT$6,000 tax rebate and saga of an escaped baboon, than former President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) trip to China, based on Google Trends.

Ma is currently in China, making him the first former or current leader of Taiwan to visit the communist country. On Tuesday (March 28), the second day of his trip, he visited the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, China.

While speaking to the media outside the mausoleum, Ma said that "People on both sides are ethnic Chinese and are descendants of the Yan and Huang emperors." He also called on the two sides of the strait to "pursue peace, avoid war, and dedicate themselves to reinvigorating the Chinese spirit," which is the responsibility of "Chinese people on the two sides."

However, recent polls show that citizens of Taiwan consider themselves Taiwanese, while the percentage who identify exclusively as Chinese is in the single digits.

Peaking in popularity at the start of Ma's trip was the story of a baboon that had been on the loose in Taoyuan City for 16 days. On Monday (March 27), it was captured but soon died after it was shot in the chest by a hunter.

The hunter is facing criminal charges of violating the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法), while Taoyuan Department of Agriculture officials also face scrutiny for their handling of the incident. Officials bowed at the baboon's body and apologized to the public for the firing of live ammunition at the animal and the posing of staff members for photos rather than tending to its urgent medical needs.

Many more Taiwanese were focused on the fact that the registration website for Taiwan's NT$6,000 tax surplus payment on Monday opened to all eligible Taiwanese and foreign residents. Payments for those who registered on the online system are expected to receive the funds in their bank accounts as soon as April 6, while the surplus payments will also be available at ATMs on April 10 and can be picked up at the post office on April 17.

Austin H. Wang, an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Nevada Las Vegas pointed out on Twitter that while Ma was talking about how "Chinese people" on the two sides of the strait should strive for peace, Taiwanese people appear to be more concerned about the escaped baboon and the NT$6,000 cash rebate.

Wang included a screenshot from Google Trends which showed that on Monday the search term "6000" reached the peak level of popularity of 100. Meanwhile, the term "baboons" had more of a flat trajectory, never reaching a popularity rating of 25, while the term "May Ying-jeou" was lower, still hovering in the single digits in terms of popularity.

Wang told Taiwan News that Ma's influence on the cross-strait relationship and public opinion of him is low now because he is "no longer the presidential candidate, and he has no direct influence on the next KMT nomination." It is for these reasons that "Taiwanese people pay more attention to other issues," said Wang. 

#Taiwan former president Ma said in China today that "Chinese people on both sides should work together to pursue peace". Meanwhile, Taiwanese people care a lot more about the strayed baboon and the NTD6000 that the gov issued this week.https://t.co/df4DfzreZ9 pic.twitter.com/uwOqNocLmd

— Austin H. Wang (@wearytolove) March 28, 2023