Taiwan Public Opinion Polls:Taiwanese Attitudes On Deepening Ties With Mainland China

Since2000, relations across the Taiwan Strait experienced immense shifts, from severe mutual distrust to unprecedented cooperation. While the provocative policies of the Chen Shui-bian administration increased tensions, since Ma Ying-jeou took office in2008, both sides witnessed a rapid warming of relations. There currently exists an abundance of academic research regarding Taiwanese contemporary society, politics, and the recent trend towards cross-Strait economic integration; however, comprehensive systematic analysis on how the Taiwanese public views relations with the Chinese mainland is quite limited. This thesis will therefore analyze Taiwan’s public opinion trends regarding deepening ties with Mainland China under the Ma administration. In order to better understand both the exact extent of political divisions within Taiwanese society, as well as obtain a better grasp of opinion trends among different societal groups, this thesis extensively utilizes Taiwanese public opinion poll data. This thesis concludes three main points:existing literature surrounding cross-Strait relations (1) overlooks the influential role of the politically moderate;(2) overinflates ancestry, namely, overstates the differences between "native Taiwanese" and "mainlander Taiwanese"; and (3) oversimplifies election result coverage. Additionally, although a majority of the Taiwan public thus far supports deepening ties with Mainland China, the issues facing the Ma administration in his second-term may prove to be even more challenging. As such, it is essential to obtain a deeper objective understanding of Taiwanese popular sentiment as both sides continue to work towards the future.