The people of Taiwan view the possibility of armed conflict with mainland China as unlikely given improvements in cross-strait relations over the past year, according to a poll released Sept. 15 by a Taipei City-based daily.
Conducted annually by United Daily News, the survey assesses Taipei-Beijing relations on a 10-point scale across the areas of diplomacy, military, politics, society, and trade and economy. A score of 1-4 represents a friendly or mutually beneficial state; 5-6, stable; and 7-10, competitive or tense.
A total of 75 percent of respondents believe private sector exchanges are either booming or stable, while 19 percent see them as tense, down from 38 percent a year ago. The score of 5.3 is the best among the poll’s five areas.
Nearly 70 percent view interactions between officials as either close or stable, up from 58 percent, while only 19 percent think otherwise.
A record 41 percent believe Taiwan and mainland China are competitors in trade and economic activity, while 32 percent see these relations as competitive and mutually beneficiary. Only 17 percent view such ties as more beneficial than competitive, down from 35 percent and the lowest on record.
Over 50 percent perceive Taipei and Beijing to be on friendly or stable military terms, while 36 percent maintain there is tension between both sides, up from 19 percent.
The biggest change is in diplomacy, with 49 percent of the opinion that Taiwan and mainland China are in a highly competitive relationship. Around 30 percent believe the situation is stabilizing, while 11 percent see it as calming down.
First conducted in 2010, this year’s poll was carried out Sept. 7-10 via telephone interviews and received valid responses from 1,010 individuals aged 20 and above nationwide. (SFC-JSM)
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