Only three percent of Taiwanese people think of themselves as primarily Chinese, according to a recent poll conducted by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center released Thursday. The poll showed that 67% of Taiwanese respondents think of themselves as primarily Taiwanese, while 28% think of themselves as both Taiwanese and Chinese.
The poll included 2,277 respondents surveyed between June 2 and September 17, 2023. The poll found that an exclusively Taiwanese identity was more commonly found among younger people and women.
The poll also asked whether respondents felt “emotionally attached” to China, with a total of 40% saying they felt attached. However, emotional attachment was strongly correlated with Taiwanese identity. 44% of those with a primarily Taiwanese identity said they felt emotionally attached to China, while 85% said they felt no emotional attachment. Among those with a mixed or primarily Chinese identity, 54% said they felt emotionally attached to China, while just 14% said they had no emotional attachment.
Identity also showed a strong correlation with political party support in Taiwan. Those with a primarily Taiwanese identity were much more likely to support the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) while few supported the Kuomintang (KMT). The inverse was true among those with a mixed or primarily Chinese identity, who were far more likely to support the KMT and unlikely to support the DPP.
Concerns about threats from China correlated with party support, with a total of 66% of all respondents considering China’s power and influence to be a major threat. This number increases to 78% among DPP supporters, and lowers to 59% among KMT supporters. KMT supporters were more likely to see the United States as a major threat with 63% expressing this view, while only 34% of DPP supporters expressed this view.
One area of agreement among respondents was a lack of satisfaction with Taiwan’s current situation, with only 24% of respondents being satisfied. This number increased to 44% among supporters of the ruling DPP party, but still failed to reach a majority.