Nearly 70% back Lai's rejection of China's claims in National Day speech: MAC

Taipei, Oct. 24 (CNA) Almost 70 percent of Taiwanese support President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) rejection on China's claims over Taiwan outlined in his National Day address, according to the results of a survey announced Thursday by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).

Of the over 1,000 respondents to the survey following Lai's speech on Oct. 10, 68.8 percent supported Lai's statement that "the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan's official name) has already put down roots in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu, and the ROC and the People's Republic of China (PRC, China's official name) are not subordinate to each other," the MAC said.

Almost 70 percent of interviewees also backed Lai's remark that "the PRC has no right to represent Taiwan," said Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), deputy head and spokesperson of the MAC, Taiwan's top government agency handling cross-strait affairs, at Thursday's press conference.

Beijing insists that Taiwan is part of China's territory under its "one China" principle.

Meanwhile, the survey found that 87.3 percent of the respondents oppose "the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) holding military drills around Taiwan recently."

After Lai delivered his speech on Oct. 10, China's Foreign Ministry later that day slammed him for using different means to "sell the fallacy of 'Taiwan independence.'"

Beijing went on to conduct the "Joint Sword-2024B" military drills on Oct. 14, which covered areas around Taiwan and involved the China Coast Guard, along with the army, navy, air force and rocket force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

The survey showed that mainstream public opinion in Taiwan supports Lai's cross-strait stance and the policy outlined in his National Day address, "firmly opposing the CCP's coercive political claims and military intimidation," the MAC said in a news statement.

The survey, commissioned by the MAC, was conducted by market research company Ipsos from Oct. 17-20 through telephone interviews with adults aged 20 and above in Taiwan.

According to the MAC, 1,073 valid samples were collected, with a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.99 percentage points.