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Jan 16, 2009

Reminder

The legislature's decision to pass a resolution clearly stating that the ROC (Taiwan) and the PRC are separate entities, which I consider significant but which has passed almost entirely under media radar, is a pretty good reflection of public opinion ; according to 2007 pan-blue media surveys, some 75% of Taiwanese believe Taiwan is an independent and sovereign country. In 2006, the MAC got similar results (76%). Around 80% of voters on both sides of the 2008 presidential election felt Ma's election showed nothing about the average Taiwanese's feelings toward unification.

No more than 13% of people in Taiwan even want to move toward unification in the future, and less than 2% want unification some time soon. More discouraging still to China: over 80% support that Taiwanese should decide their own future, and over 75% oppose the idea that the Chinese have a say in the matter.

I honestly believe that the consensus is so wide that the DPP and KMT could probably put this question behind us, form a consensus, and move on to more nitty gritty topics. Of course, that would involve the DPP giving up what they consider to be a key campaign theme, and would require the KMT to resolve it's absurd contradictions on the One China question. So don't expect the political consensus to crystallize any time soon.

1 comment:

NJ said...

and what is Republic of China?
Is ROC on Taiwan or ROC is Taiwan or Taiwan is ROC.
or maybe we shouldn't take this too seriously. just treat it as Taiwan is a independent sovereign country whose national title is Republic of China.