TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Mainland Affairs Council released a poll on Thursday showing broad opposition to Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework.
Council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) presented the results of a survey conducted after US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met for talks. Liang outlined Taiwanese views on Beijing’s Taiwan policies and cross-strait relations, per Liberty Times.
The poll found that 79.7% of respondents opposed China’s “one country, two systems” proposal for Taiwan. Additionally, 87.1% said they did not accept the statement that “as long as we accept China’s ‘one country, two systems’ and ‘peaceful reunification,’ it doesn’t matter if we let the Communist Party rule and lose freedom and democracy.”
The survey found that 82.2% disapproved of Beijing obstructing President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) overseas transit visits to diplomatic allies, while 47.4% believed China is undermining peace in the Taiwan Strait.
According to the poll, 72.6% agreed with the statement that the “Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other.” Large majorities also supported the positions that “Taiwan’s future must be decided by its 23 million people” (88.0%) and that maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is Taiwan’s top priority (85.6%).
The survey found that 71.9% supported increasing Taiwan’s defense budget to strengthen defense capabilities. The council added the government would continue implementing Lai’s “Four Commitments” and “Four Pillars of Peace” action plan.
The council said the government aims to strengthen whole-of-society resilience and democratic defense mechanisms to safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty and security. It also urged Beijing to recognize Taiwan’s existence and public opinion, abandon hostile actions, and resume dialogue with Taiwan’s elected government without preconditions.
The survey was conducted by Ipsos between May 22-23 and May 25-26 through telephone interviews with Taiwanese aged 20 and older. It collected 1,073 valid responses and had a 95% confidence level with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.99 percentage points.
