Editing Political status of Taiwan (section)

=== Taiwanese public opinion ===
{{Further|Opinion polling on Taiwanese identity}}
Public opinion in Taiwan regarding relations with the PRC is notoriously difficult to gauge, as poll results tend to be extremely sensitive to how the questions are phrased and what options are given, and there is a tendency by all political parties to [[spin (politics)|spin]] the results to support their point of view.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1177/0021909616649210 | title=Change and Continuity in Taiwan's Public Opinion on the Cross-Strait Economic Interactions | year=2017 | last1=Lin | first1=Yitzu | last2=Hsieh | first2=John Fuh-Sheng | journal=Journal of Asian and African Studies | volume=52 | issue=8 | pages=1103–1116 | s2cid=148166577 }}</ref>

According to a November 2005 poll from the [[Mainland Affairs Council]], 37.7% of people living in the ROC favor maintaining the status quo until a decision can be made in the future, 18.4% favors maintaining the status quo indefinitely, 14% favors maintaining the status quo until eventual independence, 12% favors maintaining the status quo until eventual unification, 10.3% favors independence as soon as possible, and 2.1% favors unification as soon as possible. According to the same poll, 78.3% are opposed to the "[[One Country, Two Systems]]" model, which was used for [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]], while 10.4% is in favor.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=zh:民意調查：「民眾對當前兩岸關係之看法」結果摘要 | access-date =18 October 2006 | publisher=[[Mainland Affairs Council]] | url= http://www.mac.gov.tw/big5/mlpolicy/pos/9411/po9411ch.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927003332/http://www.mac.gov.tw/big5/mlpolicy/pos/9411/po9411ch.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 27 September 2007}}</ref> However, it is essential to consider current events or newly developing positions when determining public opinion in order to maintain accuracy and efficiency, especially when it comes to conducting foreign policy and determining Taiwan's political status and hopeful eventual independence. For example, "Large jumps in the proportion of independence supporters after China's missile test in mid-1996 (from 13% in February to 21% in March) and Lee Teng-hui's "special state-to-state" speech in mid-1999 (from 15% in March to 28% in August) suggest that the cross-Strait tension influenced the Taiwanese to become more independence-minded".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sobel |first1=Richard |last2=Haynes |first2=William-Arthur |last3=Zheng |first3=Yu |date=2010 |title=The polls—Trends |journal=[[Public Opinion Quarterly]] |language=en |volume=74 |issue=4 |pages=782–813 |doi=10.1093/poq/nfq045 |issn=1537-5331}}</ref> According to a June 2008 poll from a Taiwanese mainstream media [[TVBS]], 58% of people living in Taiwan favor maintaining the status quo, 19% favors independence, and 8% favors unification. According to the same poll, if status quo is not an option and the ones who were surveyed must choose between "Independence" or "Unification", 65% are in favor of independence while 19% would opt for unification. The same poll also reveals that, in terms of self-identity, when the respondents are not told that a Taiwanese person can also be a Chinese person, 68% of the respondents identify themselves as "Taiwanese" while 18% would call themselves "Chinese". However, when the respondents are told that duo identity is an option, 45% of the respondents identify themselves as "Taiwanese only", 4% of the respondents call themselves "Chinese only" while another 45% of the respondents call themselves "both Taiwanese as well as Chinese". Furthermore, when it comes to preference in which national identity to be used in international organizations, 54% of people in the survey indicated that they prefer "Taiwan", and only 25% of the people voted for "Chinese Taipei".<ref>{{cite web |script-title=zh:民意調查：兩會復談前國族認同民調 | access-date=20 June 2008 | publisher=TVBS | url=http://www.tvbs.com.tw/FILE_DB/DL_DB/even/200806/even-20080610175239.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626155825/http://www.tvbs.com.tw/FILE_DB/DL_DB/even/200806/even-20080610175239.pdf | archive-date=26 June 2008 | url-status=live }}</ref>

According to an October 2008 poll from the Mainland Affairs Council, on the question of Taiwan's status, 36.17% of respondents favor maintaining the status quo until a decision can be made in the future, 25.53% favors maintaining the status quo indefinitely, 12.49% favors maintaining the status quo until eventual independence, 4.44% favors maintaining the status quo until eventual unification, 14.80% favors independence as soon as possible, and 1.76% favors unification as soon as possible. In the same poll, on the question of the PRC government's attitude towards the ROC government, 64.85% of the respondents consider the PRC government hostile or very hostile, 24.89% consider the PRC government friendly or very friendly, while 10.27% did not express an opinion. On the question of the PRC government's attitude towards the people in Taiwan, 45.98% of the respondents consider the PRC government hostile or very hostile, 39.6% consider the PRC government friendly or very friendly, while 14.43% did not express an opinion.<ref>{{cite web| script-title=zh:「大陸政策與兩岸協商」民意調查(民國97年10月10日~10月12日)問卷及百分比分布 | access-date=16 October 2008|publisher=Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China| url=http://www.mac.gov.tw/big5/mlpolicy/pos/9710/9710a.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029155949/http://www.mac.gov.tw/big5/mlpolicy/pos/9710/9710a.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-date=29 October 2008|language=zh}}</ref>

In May 2009, Taiwan's (Republic of China) Department of the Interior published a survey examining whether people in Taiwan see themselves as Taiwanese, Chinese, or both. 64.6% see themselves as Taiwanese, 11.5% as Chinese, 18.1% as both, and 5.8% were unsure.<ref>{{cite web| script-title=zh:「民眾的政治態度及族群觀點」民意調查 加權百分比摘要表| access-date=11 June 2009| publisher=Taiwan's (Republic of China) Department of the Interior| url=http://www.rdec.gov.tw/public/Data/952711431071.pdf| language=zh| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008164032/http://www.rdec.gov.tw/public/Data/952711431071.pdf| archive-date=8 October 2011| url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to a December 2009 poll from a Taiwanese mainstream media [[TVBS]], if status quo is not an option and the ones who were surveyed must choose between "Independence" or "Unification", 68% are in favor of independence while 13% would opt for unification.<ref>{{cite web | title=Taiwanese text | access-date=23 December 2009 | publisher=TVBS | url=http://www.tvbs.com.tw/FILE_DB/DL_DB/doshouldo/200912/doshouldo-20091218191946.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927053933/http://www.tvbs.com.tw/FILE_DB/DL_DB/doshouldo/200912/doshouldo-20091218191946.pdf | archive-date=27 September 2011 | url-status=live }}</ref>

A June 2013 poll conducted by DPP showed that 77.6% consider themselves as Taiwanese.<ref name=":4">{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Hsin-fang |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/07/07/2003566539 |title=DPP poll finds 77.6% identify as Taiwanese |date=7 July 2013 |access-date=7 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130707182016/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/07/07/2003566539 |archive-date=7 July 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> On the independence-unification issue, the survey found that 25.9 percent said they support unification, 59 percent support independence, and 10.3 percent prefer the "status quo." When asked whether Taiwan and China are parts of one country, the party said the survey found 78.4 percent disagree, while 15 percent agreed. As for whether Taiwan and China are two districts in one country, 70.6 percent disagree, while 22.8 percent agree, the survey showed. When asked which among four descriptions—"one country on each side," "a special state-to-state relationship," "one country, two areas," and "two sides are of one country"—they find the most acceptable, 54.9 percent said "one country on each side," 25.3 percent chose "a special state-to-state relationship," 9.8 percent said "one country, two areas", and 2.5 percent favor "two sides are of one country," the survey showed.<ref name=":4" />

A June 2023 poll conducted by the [[National Chengchi University]] showed 62.8% identified as Taiwanese, 2.5% as Chinese, and 30.5% as both.<ref>{{cite web |title=Election Study Center, NCCU-Taiwanese / Chinese Identity |url=https://esc.nccu.edu.tw/PageDoc/Detail?fid=7800&id=6961 |website=esc.nccu.edu.tw |language=zh-TW |access-date=8 October 2023 |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306094327/https://esc.nccu.edu.tw/PageDoc/Detail?fid=7800&id=6961 |url-status=live }}</ref> Regarding independence, 32.1% indicated status quo forever, 28.6% wanted to decide later, 21.4% said status quo moving toward independence, and 5.8% said status quo moving toward unification.<ref>{{cite web |title=Election Study Center, NCCU-Taiwan Independence vs. Unification with the Mainl |url=https://esc.nccu.edu.tw/PageDoc/Detail?fid=7801&id=6963 |website=esc.nccu.edu.tw |language=zh-TW |access-date=8 October 2023 |archive-date=26 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026231952/https://esc.nccu.edu.tw/PageDoc/Detail?fid=7801&id=6963 |url-status=live }}</ref>