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Americans Want U.S. to Protect Taiwan
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in the United States believe their country should stand by Taiwan in case of a military confrontation with China, according to a poll by Zogby Interactive released by UPI. 53.5 per cent of respondents think the U.S. has a responsibility to defend Taiwan should it be attacked by China, while 36 per cent disagree.
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."
On May 25, the Pentagon released a report titled "Military Power of the People's Republic of China, 2007", in which it asserts the Asian country is engaged in "a sustained effort to develop the capability to interdict, at long ranges, aircraft carrier and expeditionary strike groups that might deploy to the Western Pacific."
The report also explicitly says Beijing does not yet have "the military capability to accomplish with confidence its political objectives on (Taiwan), particularly when confronted with the prospect of U.S. intervention."
Polling Data
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? - "The United States has a responsibility to defend Taiwan should it be attacked by China."
Strongly agree | 20.6% |
Somewhat agree | 32.9% |
Somewhat disagree | 21.5% |
Strongly disagree | 14.5% |
Not sure | 10.5% |
Source: Zogby Interactive / UPI
Methodology: Online interviews with 5,141 American adults, conducted from May 16 to May 18, 2007. Margin of error is 1.3 per cent.