TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwanese residents' self-identification overwhelmingly draws on their home island, rather than mainland China, according to survey findings from the U.S think tank Pew Research Center released on Tuesday (Jan. 16).
Conducted between June 2 and Sept. 17, 2023, the poll assessed views on personal identity and perceptions of China. Unfazed by Beijing's perspective on Taiwan as a breakaway province, 67% of respondents affirm themselves as Taiwanese, dwarfing the 3% identifying primarily as Chinese. Concurrently, 28% consider themselves both Taiwanese and Chinese.
These categories of identity manifested on the political battleground, with self-identifying Taiwanese most likely to align with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which unprecedentedly clinched its third consecutive presidential victory last Saturday.
In the age demographic of residents below 35, an elevated 83% see themselves as purely Taiwanese. When observing gender, 72% of women compared to 63% of men, regard themselves as exclusively Taiwanese.
Disregarding a single-digit fraction of respondents who feel primarily Chinese, 40% still hold emotional ties to mainland China. Among these, 11% maintain strong emotions towards the mainland.
The survey reveals that a bearish outlook on China persists. With 66% of adults perceiving China's power and influence as a threat, both the DPP and the Kuomintang (KMT) voters consider China a major threat to Taiwan, at rates of 78% and 59%, respectively. Conversely, KMT supporters are more likely to see the U.S. as a principal threat compared to DPP backers.
In terms of the perception of domestic issues, only 10% of KMT supporters are satisfied with the current state of living, compared to 48% of DPP supporters.