Poll finds most Taiwanese identify with Chinese ethnicity

TAIPEI - The majority of Taiwan people consider themselves ethnically Chinese, according to a survey by the non-governmental organisation, Taiwan Competitiveness Forum. Conducted by TCF quarterly, the poll found 87% of respondents see themselves as part of the ethnic Chinese community on the basis of their shared cultural heritage, ethnicity, history and language.

Hsieh Ming-hui, CEO of the Taipei City-based TCF, said the number was up on the 83% of recent surveys. “This highly stable cultural identification serves as the cornerstone for peaceful development of cross-strait relations,” he said.
While the negative impact of the student protests in Taipei in March had reflected in the previous survey, Hsieh said the incident has not hampered development of cross-strait relations, nor the public’s attitude toward cultural identification.
Hsieh urged Taipei and Beijing to recognise this fact and to re-examine their respective approaches to promoting cross-strait exchanges. “Taiwan should take advantage of its special relationship with mainland China to create more development opportunities for itself,” he said. www.taiwantoday.tw (ATI).