People's Perceptions of Taipei's Relationship with Chinese Mainland and Foreign Countries--An Examination of Public Opinion Polls

The findings of this study show that people strongly support the status quo at this point with regard to the issue of reunification and independence. However, national reunification is still favored as a future choice. The continuity of current stalemate might bring about the bipolarization of political position. Fundamentally, the attitudes of people towards interaction across the Taiwan strait are positive and concurrent with the mainland policy of the goverment. Nevertheless, "equality" and "mutual benefits" are demanded by the respondents. The importance of cultural and trade links between mainland and Taiwan are recognized, although people are slightly worried about the latter for the sake of national security and national interests. On behalf of the priority of mainland policy and foreign policy, people tend to endow both issues with equal weight. Foreign relations is still superior to mainland-Taiwan relations under a comparison. The polls also show that the coercive policy of Beijing towards Taiwan has almost nothing to do with the attitudes of the people on Taiwan towards interaction across the Taiwan Strait. Public opinion is very stable in this sense. Moreover, the study finds that the people with clear Chinese mainland comples in terms of ethnic and party identification tend to choose a more active and positive position towards interaction across the Taiwan Strait.