Taipei, June 8 (CNA) Over 70 percent of Taiwanese reject China's insistence that "the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China" as a political prerequisite for the development of cross-strait relations, according to a poll released on Thursday by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).
The poll found that 73.4 percent of respondents do not recognize China's adherence to the "one-China" principle as a political precondition and consider it an effort to treat Taiwan as a local government.
Meanwhile, 83.9 percent thought China's ongoing efforts to limit Taiwan's international space have undermined Taiwan's rights and interests and 80.5 percent said that China should recognize the existence of the Republic of China, the official denomination of Taiwan, according to the poll.
The poll also revealed that 89.4 percent support the government's proposal that the two sides should respect each other and settle disagreement through communication and dialogue.
It also indicated that 80.9 percent of those polled are in favor of maintaining a current peaceful and stable status quo in cross-strait relations.
When asked about the speed of development of cross-strait exchanges, 31.3 percent said it was just right, while 6.7 percent believe it is too fast and 45.0 percent too slow, according to the poll.
At the same time, 85.9 percent said they support the government's view that China should respect Taiwan's democratic system and public opinion in fostering cross-strait relations, while 86.2 percent thought Taiwan and China should promote positive interactions and exchanges that seek to optimize the benefits to both sides.
Regarding China's detention of Taiwanese human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲), 68.1 percent indicated that China has not provided evidence in Lee's case, did not inform Taiwan's government of developments and has refused to allow family visitation, all of which undermined the human rights of Taiwanese citizens.
Lee went missing after entering China via Macao on March 19 and was later confirmed to have been detained by the Chinese authorities on charges of subversion of state power.
The survey, conducted from June 2-6 by National Chengchi University's Election Study Center commissioned by the MAC, collected 1,076 valid questionnaires by telephone, with a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.99 percentage points.
(By Miao Chung-han and Evelyn Kao)
Enditem/AW
