Growing numbers of Taiwanese are unwilling to give their lives to defend the island, according to a new opinion poll.
Advertisement
In a recent survey by My Formosa, respondents were asked if people should be prepared to pay any price – including death – to protect Taiwan’s status and prevent reunification with the Chinese mainland.
The poll found that 52.2 per cent of those questioned were unwilling to do so – an 8.4-point rise compared with a similar survey carried out two years ago – while 40.8 per cent were willing, down four points on the previous survey.
When asked which approach would best safeguard Taiwan’s security and help prevent war, a majority – 58.3 per cent – favoured resuming government-to-government talks with Beijing and easing people-to-people exchanges.
Another 28.2 per cent supported boosting defence spending to buy more weapons, while just 3 per cent believed Taiwan should fully comply with requests from US President Donald Trump.
Advertisement
The poll did not mention specific requests from Trump, but the US president has been pressuring the island on a range of issues, including defence spending, arms sales, tariffs and investment in US-based chip manufacturing facilities.