‘STRONGER SENTIMENT’:A survey conducted by the Taiwan Thinktank showed increasing support for using the title ‘Taiwan’ instead of ‘the ROC’ in official matters
Taipei Times
Date: Dec 28, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter
About half of Taiwanese said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should refer to herself as “the president of
Taiwan” while visiting the nation’s diplomatic allies, marking a rise in Taiwanese identification, according to a poll released by the Taiwan Thinktank yesterday.
According to the poll, 49.4 percent of respondents said Tsai should introduce herself as the president of Taiwan — up from 39.8 percent in a May poll by the think tank — while 41.2 percent said she should refer to herself as the president of the Republic of China (ROC) — down from 44.7 percent in May.
Fifty-one percent of respondents said the nation should use “Taiwan” as its official title when participating in international events, while 34.6 percent preferred “the Republic of China” and 9 percent preferred “Chinese Taipei.”
When asked whether diplomatic missions in Taiwan should be identified as “representatives to Taiwan,” as was the case during the administration of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), or as “representatives to [the Republic of] China,” which has been the case since former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, 55.9 percent of respondents said the missions should be referred to as “representatives to Taiwan,” while 26.8 percent said they should be referred to as “representatives to China.” [FULL STORY]