TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Mainland Affairs Council said Thursday that nearly seven in 10 people in Taiwan support maintaining the cross-strait status quo while rejecting unification with China.
CNA reported that the council's survey found 68.9% supported maintaining the status quo without moving toward unification. Another 81.2% opposed China's proposed "one country, two systems" principle.
The poll also found that 83.6% supported the government's approach to maintaining the cross-strait status quo. In addition, 83.9% said Taiwan's future should be decided by its 23 million people.
On recent cross-strait developments, 70.5% said Chinese coast guard patrols in waters east of Taiwan showed "malicious intent." The survey also found that 76.4% supported tougher penalties for foreign nationals who commit violent crimes in Taiwan.
The latter question followed a recent case in which a Chinese national surnamed Liao (廖) attacked commentator Akio Yaita in Taiwan. The council cited the case as an example of concerns over pressure and intimidation extending across borders.
The Mainland Affairs Council said the results showed that most people in Taiwan continue to oppose "one country, two systems" and unification with China. It said Beijing has continued using gray-zone pressure and transnational repression to create instability in Taiwan.
The council said the government will continue measures aimed at strengthening Taiwan's defense and social resilience. It also called on Beijing to recognize that Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other and to hold talks with Taiwan's elected government without preconditions.
The council commissioned National Chengchi University's Election Study Center to conduct the telephone survey from Aug. 13-17. It surveyed 1,086 Taiwan residents aged 20 and older and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.97 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, per FTV News.