Taiwanese Favor Goodwill to Beijing Over US Defense Ties, Poll Shows

A recent survey indicates that a majority of Taiwanese residents believe fostering goodwill with mainland China is more important than strengthening defense cooperation with the United States for maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait. The poll, conducted by the government-funded Institute for National Defence and Security Research in Taipei, surveyed 1,127 residents between May 28 and May 31.

When asked about the most crucial approach to safeguarding the island's security and peace, 44.9 percent of respondents prioritized "strengthening self-reliant defence capabilities." However, a significant 29.7 percent favored "extending goodwill towards mainland China," while only 11.8 percent opted for "deepening cooperation with the US."

The findings suggest that, in the current regional security climate, many Taiwanese see enhancing their own defensive capacity as the primary foundation for peace. This perspective appears to outweigh prioritizing external alliances or improving cross-strait relations, according to the institute's analysis.

Significant divisions in opinion emerged based on political party affiliation. Supporters of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) overwhelmingly favored strengthening self-reliant defense capabilities (74 percent), with only a small fraction (4 percent) choosing to extend goodwill to the mainland. Conversely, a majority of Kuomintang (KMT) supporters (65 percent) preferred extending goodwill towards the mainland, with 22 percent prioritizing stronger self-defense. Supporters of the Taiwan People's Party showed views closer to the KMT, with 55 percent favoring goodwill and 28 percent prioritizing self-defense.

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This suggests that, amid the regional security environment following the Xi-Trump meeting, most people see enhancing their own defensive capacity as a key foundation for maintaining security and peace, rather than prioritizing external cooperation or improvements in cross-strait relations.