CNA file photo

Taipei, July 31 (CNA) A recent survey commissioned by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has found that about 60 percent of Taiwanese people polled are angry at Taichung being stripped of the right to host the East Asian Youth Games due to China's objection, and that more than half blame China for its suppression of Taiwan.

The DPP on Tuesday published its results of the poll on the cancellation of the event that came after China initiated a vote at the East Asian Olympic Committees (EAOC) meeting July 24.

China blocked Taiwan from hosting the games slated for August next year, reportedly over its concern about a proposed referendum on whether the name "Taiwan" instead of "Chinese Taipei" should be used at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and other international sports events.

The DPP survey found that 68.4 percent of the respondents were aware of the incident, and 31.6 percent were not. Asked whether they were indignant at China's suppression that led to the result, 60.1 percent said yes, and 25.8 percent said no.

Of the respondents who identified themselves as opposition pan-blue supporters, 51.1 percent said they felt angry about that, as were 46.7 percent of those who consider themselves non-partisan and 82.3 percent who described themselves as pan-green supporters, of which the DPP is the major party.

In the poll, the DPP posed the question of whether they attribute the cause of Taichung losing the hosting right to China's suppression or to the government's refusal to recognize the "1992 consensus," a formula that endorses the "one China" principle.

On that question, 54.8 percent put their blame on China, and 25.9 percent on the government's objection to the "1992 consensus."

The survey found that 84 percent of the respondents support Taichung and the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, which have filed separate petitions with the EAOC seeking to regain the right to host the games, while 7 percent said they did not support the moves.

The survey was conducted July 25-29. A total of 1,109 valid samples from people aged over 20 were collected from a telephone survey that had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

(By Shih Hsiu-chuan)
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