Taiwanese Opposition to Political  Union With China Surges

(Bloomberg) -- The number of Taiwanese opposed to a Hong Kong-style political union with China has surged this year as ongoing violent protests in the former British colony raise concerns about Beijing’s rule across the region.

Nearly 90% of Taiwan’s public opposes unification with China under the “one country, two systems“ model adopted by Hong Kong when it returned to Beijing’s rule in 1997, according to a survey published by Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council Thursday. That’s an increase of 13.9% percentage points since January to 89.3%.

The months-long protests in the city not only raised concerns among Taiwanese people about Hong Kong-style rule, but also gave Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen a noticeable boost in public support. Tsai, who is seeking a second term in January, refuses to endorse Beijing’s bottom line that both sides belong to “one China.”

Before the pro-democracy protests erupted in Hong Kong, Tsai still lagged challenger Han Kuo-yu of the pro-China opposition Kuomintang by double digits in most opinion polls. Since August, she began leading.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council conducted the survey about Hong Kong-style rule between Oct. 17-21. It involved 1,073 Taiwan citizens aged 20 years or older, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.99%. The same question was asked in surveys in January, March, May and July this year.

--With assistance from Miaojung Lin.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chinmei Sung in Taipei at csung4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Samson Ellis at sellis29@bloomberg.net, Ryan Lovdahl, Denise Wee

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