Less than 1 per cent of Taiwanese think it is urgent to join UN

Mar 2, 2008, 11:36 GMT

Taipei - Less than 1 per cent of Taiwanese voters believe it is urgent for the island to join the United Nations, with an opinion poll Sunday showing that most Taiwanese regard a controversial UN membership referendum as a phony issue.

Of the 1,065 eligible voters surveyed, only 0.4 per cent of the respondents said the government must make accession to the global body a priority, according to the survey by the Taiwan Competitiveness Forum.

Some 63.6 per cent think that it is more important for the government to improve the economy and general living standards on the island.

'The fact that not many voters think that the government should place the UN membership as the priority of its task shows that voters do not believe the passage of the UN membership referendum would increase Taiwan's membership chance,' said Peng Chin-peng, secretary-general of the forum.

A referendum initiated by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on joining the United Nations in the name of Taiwan is to take place on March 22 alongside the presidential election.

The referendum has met with strong opposition from the United States and China, which considers the island a part of China and with no right to join the United Nations.

The United Nations awarded the China seat to Beijing from Taipei in 1971, and Taipei has repeatedly applied to rejoin the global body without success since the early 1990s due to China's opposition.

Beijing, a rival of Taiwan since the two sides split at the end of a civil war in 1949, has said the referendum is the first step towards declaring independence. It has threatened to attack Taiwan if it declares formal independence from China.

Wary of escalated cross-strait tension, Washington has repeatedly asked Taiwan not to hold the referendum, only to be ignored by Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian.

The same poll found that 46.1 per cent opt for maintenance of the current cross-strait status quo, while 17.9 per cent feel that the two rival sides should sign a 50-year peace agreement. Only 15.3 per cent believe Taiwan should declare independence while 5.6 per cent believe the two sides should reunite.