Singapore tops list of Taiwanese’ favourite countries

TAIPEI — A poll released on Monday (March 20) showed that the top three favourite countries of people in Taiwan are Singapore, Japan and Canada, while the Philippines and China are among the countries most unpopular.

In the survey conducted by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation, more than 1,000 adults were asked last week to rate 12 countries and the European Union with regard to which one is their favourite.

Singapore came out on top, with over 87 per cent of respondents naming it as their favourite country. Japan came second at 83.9 per cent, Canada third at 83 per cent, and the European Union fourth at approximately 79 per cent. Australia was ranked fifth and the United States sixth.

Ms Lee Peng-wen, a speech communication professor of Shih Hsin University, said respondents’ positive impression of Singapore is mainly due to the similarity of culture and language. Singapore’s image of being clean, efficient, modern and safe also played a significant role, she said.

Among those who picked Japan as their favourite country, the percentages were roughly equal among men and women.

The poll also indicated that Japan was most popular among young Taiwanese. Specifically, about 97 per cent of the respondents aged between 20 and 24 expressed the most positive view of Japan, followed by respondents aged between 25 and 34 (96.7 per cent) and those aged between 35 and 44 (90.6 per cent).

By educational background, Japan was the most popular among university students and graduates at nearly 93 per cent. A vast majority of high school students also expressed positive views of Japan.

Such affinity also transcended political affiliation. About 95 per cent of respondents affiliated themselves with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party said they had good impression of Japan, while about 70 per cent of those identifying themselves as sympathisers of the main opposition Nationalist Party (KMT) expressed a positive view of Japan. Even more than 80 per cent of the respondents claiming politically neutrality said they were fond of Japan.

When asked about their least popular country, nearly 82 per cent of the respondents said North Korea. The Philippines and China were also viewed relatively negatively in the survey.

Although about 47 per cent of the respondents said China was their least favourite country, in contrast over 44 per cent of the people surveyed listed China as their most favourite country.

Explaining the phenomenon, Mr Wuer Kaixi, a student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement who escaped from China to Taiwan, said the positive views of China mainly came from the impression created by the China-based businesspeople who see more benefits brought by the ruling Communist Party’s authoritarian rule than drawbacks. KYODO NEWS