TVBS Public Opinion Poll Center (June 10, 2008)

The public survey on the national identity by TVBS.


Editor’s Note

June 12, 2008

According to the survey conducted by the TVBS Public Opinion Poll Center on the topic, “national identity survey before the resumption of negotiations between the Straits Exchange Foundation and the Association for the Relations Across the Taiwan Strait,” which asked respondents to adopt a dichotomy between “Tai Wan Ren and Chung Kuo Ren,” nearly 70% of respondents stated that they were Tai Wan Ren, with only 18% defining themselves as Chung Kuo Ren. However, this is a false dichotomy as in reality nearly 50% of the population in Taiwan define themselves as both Tai Wan Ren and Chung Kuo Ren. The survey question deprived the people of a free choice of self-identity. Furthermore, such a false dichotomy only serves to stir up further conflict on communal issues.

This Website believes that, judging from its enormous influence on Taiwan, the TVBS Station should avoid adopting a dichotomy between Chung Kuo Ren and Tai Wan Ren on national identity surveys in the future. In addition, the Chinese phrase “Chung Kuo Ren,” which is commonly translated as “Chinese,” has been distorted by the DPP in the past to imply someone with “nationality of the People’s Republic of China.” This Website, therefore, suggests that TVBS or any other public opinion poll centers use more specific terms acceptable to all political parties, such as “nationality of the Republic of China” or “the Chinese nation” so that Taiwan, hoping for economic resurgence, will not once again be trapped in the swamp of a national identity division.

According to the survey on the cross-Strait relations conducted by the Global View Magazine dated June 10, 84.9% of respondents regard themselves as a “national of the ROC,” and 77.2% as part of the “Chinese nation.” Please refer to the Survey column dated June 11 on this Website.

Attachment : 01