Taiwanese identity climbs to 20-year high

2016/03/18

More people consider themselves Taiwanese than any time in the past two decades, according to a survey released March 14 by Taipei City-based United Daily News.

A total of 73 percent of respondents identify themselves as Taiwanese, up from 44 percent in 1996—the year the island’s voters participated in the first direct ROC presidential election.

Only 11 percent said they were Chinese, 10 percent Taiwanese and Chinese, 1 percent no difference between the two and the remainder declining to comment. The 20 to 29 age group has the highest connection to the island, with 85 percent seeing themselves as Taiwanese.

The overall trend is in line with an ROC Mainland Affairs Council-commissioned annual poll conducted nationwide since 1992 by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center in Taipei.

In 2015, a total of 59 percent of respondents identified themselves as Taiwanese, up from 24.1 percent in 1996. Only 3.3 percent said they were Chinese and 33.7 percent Taiwanese and Chinese.

The UDN survey also found that 46 percent of respondents prefer maintaining the cross-strait status quo, down from 55 percent last year. Those desiring independence tallied 36 percent, up from 28 percent, while those preferring unification with mainland China was 12 percent, down from 13 percent.

Conducted Feb. 15 to 19 via telephone nationwide, the survey comprised 1,019 valid responses at a confidence level of 95 percent and margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=243030&ctNode=2194&mp=9)