Polls & Research

Taiwan Considers Sovereignty from China

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in Taiwan believe any decision on an eventual independence from China belongs to them exclusively, according to a poll by Taiwan Thinktank. 76.1 per cent of respondents think Taiwan's sovereignty belongs to the 23 million people of Taiwan.

Taiwan was formed in 1949 after the government of Chiang Kai-shek was forced out of China as Mao Zedong's communists were gaining prominence. A series of democratic reforms implemented by Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui in the early 1990s allowed Taiwan's residents to take part in free and fair elections. To this date, Mainland China considers Taiwan a "renegade province" and reserves the right to bring it under control.

In March 2005, legislators in China's National People's Congress passed the anti-secession law, which aims to prevent Taiwan's independence. The legislation calls for the use of "non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Adopted in 1991 by the executive branch of the Taiwanese government, the National Unification Guidelines were a proposed three-step process aimed at eventually reintegrating the two states of Taiwan and China. In February 2006, Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian announced that the guidelines would "cease to apply." Chen's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) openly advocates for Taiwan to declare its formal independence.

On Jan. 8, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao expressed disappointment after a reported stopover by Chen in the United States, declaring, "The Chinese government firmly opposes any official exchange between the United States and the Taiwan authorities. Our stance is consistent and clear. Taiwan independence forces are the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the Asia Pacific region."

Polling Data

Would you say Taiwan's sovereignty belongs to the 23 million people of Taiwan, or the people of Taiwan and the 1.4 billion people living on the Chinese mainland?