Poll Finds 55% Believe US Using Taiwan to Inhibit China 民調:55.4%認為 美利用台壓制中國崛起

A survey recently conducted by the Democracy Foundation has found that 55.4 percent of people believe the U.S. is merely using Taiwan to inhibit China's rise. Only about 40 percent of respondents believe the U.S. will uphold its commitments to Taiwan. Meanwhile, 62.3 percent say the cross-Strait issue should be resolved by the people on the two sides and the U.S.' interference is making it harder to resolve.

The U.S. has made a big show of supporting Taiwan as cross-Strait relations worsen. However, a survey recently conducted by the Democracy Foundation has found that 55.4 percent of people have doubts about the U.S.' sincerity and believe the U.S. is merely using Taiwan to inhibit China's rise. The survey also found that 29.1 percent believe the U.S.' Taiwan-friendly policies can protect Taiwan's security. Scholars say Taiwan is to a certain degree paying protection money to the U.S.

Kao Yuang-kuang, Adjunct Professor, GIDS, NCCU: “I won't sugarcoat it, we could essentially become beggars that beg the U.S. to protect us and sell us weapons.”

Kuei Hung-chen, CEO, Democracy Foundation: “The majority believe that the U.S. is actively involving itself in cross-Strait issues for its own benefit.”

The survey also showed that only 40 percent have confidence that the U.S. will follow through on its promises to Taiwan. Scholars say the survey results clearly show that the majority of the people have doubts about the U.S. and can clearly see that the U.S. is acting out of its own interest in interfering with cross-Strait issues. Over 60 percent said the U.S. involvement in cross-Strait issues is making them harder to resolve.

Tso Chen-dong, Professor, Department of Political Science, NTU: “We admittedly need to recognize that Taiwan and the U.S. have different interests, but we also need to directly regard this and understand that the U.S. remains the most important supporter of Taiwan in handling foreign relations.”

The survey found that 62.3 percent believe cross-Strait issues should be resolved by the people on both sides, while 60 percent believe Taiwan should adopt a position of staying close to the U.S. and maintaining peace with China and not take sides when it comes to the China-U.S. confrontation. Scholars say people in general still view the role of the U.S. in the Taiwan Strait and assistance through weapons sales positively.