More than two-thirds of Taiwanese people would be willing to fight off a Chinese invasion of their island, a new survey found. Just over half of respondents believe that the United States would send its military to help.

Most Taiwanese people would be willing to defend their island against a Chinese attack, according to a poll published Wednesday. Most also believe that such an attack is highly unlikely in the next five years.

The poll, commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, was released a day before Taiwan’s National Day.

Should Beijing attack, 67.8% of the 1,214 people surveyed said they would be “very willing or somewhat willing” to fight in defense of Taiwan; 23.6% said they would not be.

Almost 64% said China’s “territorial ambition” in Taiwan represents “a serious threat.” At the same time, 61% said it was not likely China would invade soon.

Some 52% of respondents said that they believed key ally the United States would come to their aid in the invent of a Chinese invasion. Yet, only 40% believed that the US would send its navy to “break” a potential blockade.

    • YeetPics@mander.xyz
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      24 days ago

      Yea sure fella, us hegemony is why China is acting like an imperial douchebag.

      That’s definitely it…

      • cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml
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        24 days ago

        Taiwan literally exists because the US intervened in the Chinese civil war to protect the retreating KMT.

        • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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          24 days ago

          That shouldn’t preclude the Taiwanese from the right to self-determination

          • cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml
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            24 days ago

            Even so, it’s important to understand that the PRC views continued US support of Taiwan as part of a long standing policy to interfere with China’s right to self determination. Remember, the PRC came into existence after China was dominated by foreign powers for the better part of a century. If there is to be a peaceful resolution, as all parties proclaim to want, this perspective can’t be casually dismissed.

            • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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              24 days ago

              I’d argue that position would hold more water if politicians didn’t need to be approved before running for office in Hong Kong. I think that’s emblematic of how seriously the CCP takes self-determination.

              • cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml
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                24 days ago

                Hong Kong is actually a perfect example for what I’m talking about. It was a concession China made to the British after losing the first Opium war. As such, it was always going to be a sore spot for the PRC. On top of that, the British only introduced a pretty limited form of democracy to Hong Kong shortly before it was supposed to relinquish control over the territory. The PRC saw this as an attempt by the British to continue interfering with the right for Chinese self determination. They believed the British were intentionally making it more difficult for the PRC to integrate Hong Kong into its existing political structures. After the handover, the PRC took extreme offense at pro democracy protestors using the old colonial flag for Hong Kong. That was because they perceived it as a call for further foreign interference in Chinese affairs.

                • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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                  24 days ago

                  I mean yeah the British sucked, but those democracy concessions were hard fought by the people of Hong Kong. I don’t want the big power politics of the crown versus the PRC to distract from the fact that it took people out on the streets to gain it from the British just for them to be snuffed out by Beijing

                  • cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml
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                    24 days ago

                    My point is that Beijing’s policies follow a logic that has been shaped by struggles against foreign powers. Therefore, while you may sympathize with Taiwan and Hong Kong protestors, you shouldn’t assume the PRC is acting in a belligerent or hypocritical manner.

                • btaf45@lemmy.world
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                  24 days ago

                  On top of that, the British only introduced a pretty limited form of democracy to Hong Kong shortly before it was supposed to relinquish control over the territory

                  On top of that, the Chinese dictator crushed democracy with military and police force in violation of the unification agreement – proving 100% it absolutely can not be trusted.

                  The PRC saw this as an attempt by the British to continue interfering with the right for Chinese self determination.

                  The Chinese have no rights whatsoever in the PRC regime because the Chinese cannot chose their own leaders and determine their own country’s destiny. By “right for Chinese self determination” you actually mean the DICTATOR’s right (one single individual!!) to prevent one billion Chinese citizens from running their own country as they see fit.

            • btaf45@lemmy.world
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              24 days ago

              Even so, it’s important to understand

              That’s not the slightest bit important. The Republic of China views the PRC as interfering with China’s self determination. The Republic of China gets to choose its own leaders but the PRC is a dictatorship not chosen by the people. That means that the ROC speaks for millions more Chinese than the PRC does.

              If there is to be a peaceful resolution,

              The only possible terms of reunification would be the end of the Communist dictatorship. In such an event Taipei would likely be the initial temporary capital of a unified China because that’s where the experience of democracy is.

              • cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml
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                24 days ago

                You’re advocating for belligerence on behalf of a people who generally do not agree with that approach. Taiwanese people would much rather their leaders attempt to resolve tensions with the mainland through diplomatic means. Escalating the conflict to the point of war or pushing for regime change in the PRC is just delusional.

        • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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          24 days ago

          Seems like there’s truth to that:

          Following the eruption of the Korean War, US President Harry S. Truman dispatched the United States Seventh Fleet into the Taiwan Strait to prevent hostilities between the ROC and the PRC. The United States also passed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty and the Formosa Resolution of 1955, granting substantial foreign aid to the KMT regime between 1951 and 1965. The US foreign aid stabilized prices in Taiwan by 1952. The KMT government instituted many laws and land reforms that it had never effectively enacted on mainland China. Economic development was encouraged by American aid and programs such as the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction, which turned the agricultural sector into the basis for later growth. Under the combined stimulus of the land reform and the agricultural development programs, agricultural production increased at an average annual rate of 4 percent from 1952 to 1959. The government also implemented a policy of import substitution industrialization, attempting to produce imported goods domestically. The policy promoted the development of textile, food, and other labor-intensive industries.

          From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan?wprov=sfla1

      • BassTurd@lemmy.world
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        24 days ago

        You are asking way too much from someone blowing smoke just for the sake of stirring controversy. My guess is the user is both parroting a talking point and doesn’t know what hegemony means.