90% of Taiwanese reject China's threat of force: Survey

Taipei, Oct. 27 (CNA) Nearly 90 percent of people in Taiwan expressed opposition to a declaration by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) that China will never renounce the use of force against Taiwan, a poll conducted by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) found Thursday.

According to the MAC, 85.6 percent of respondents rejected the declaration made by Xi during the 20th CPC National Congress, in which Xi stressed that China would "definitely not agree to giving up the use of force against pro-Taiwan independence separatists and external forces" while reaffirming his resolve to achieve China's unification with Taiwan.

Meanwhile, 91.6 percent of respondents said they rejected the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) militarily threatening Taiwan.

On cross-Taiwan strait relations, 83.9 percent of people interviewed disapproved of China's so-called "overall strategy for resolving the Taiwan problem"; 82.3 percent were opposed to China's insistence on the "1992 consensus" under the "one China" policy; and 79.3 percent were against its belief that "one country, two systems" is the best way to achieve reunification.

The survey shows that public opinion firmly opposes the political framework imposed by the CCP, and the latter's intimidation through the use of force, the government agency handling cross-strait affairs in Taiwan said.

In terms of mainstream public opinion in Taiwan, the MAC said 89.7 percent of respondents support the government's continued self-defense efforts, while safeguarding national sovereignty and Taiwan's democracy.

In addition, 84.3 percent of those polled said they supported President Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) National Day speech that military confrontation in the Taiwan Strait is absolutely not an option, and that only by respecting the Taiwanese people's sovereignty, democracy, and freedom can there be a foundation to resume constructive interaction across the Taiwan Strait.

The council pointed out that more than 80 percent of respondents supported the government's efforts to take into account the economy and epidemic prevention when adjusting cross-strait exchanges and people-to-people interaction.

The survey was conducted from Oct. 19 to Oct. 23 among residents of Taiwan aged 20 or older. It gathered 1,096 valid samples, with a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.96 percentage points.