Protests, Pandemics, and Planes – New Findings in Taiwanese Public Opinion and Participation

Lev Nachman

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Abstract

Public opinion is perhaps the fundamental driver of Taiwan political discourse. Whether it is polling over identity, perceptions of China, to more contemporary topics like how Taiwanese feel about Hong Kongers to COVID-19, survey data continues to be a necessary source of information for scholars and analysists alike. Since 2014, public opinion surveys in Taiwan have shown an accelerating embrace of unfavorable views of China. Closer connections between Taiwan and Hong Kong may be helping to drive this trend. Drawing from new survey data, I explore how COVID-19, the Hong Kong crisis, and military threats from China are affecting public opinion and civic action in Taiwan. Based on my research team’s survey data, I present novel findings on how Taiwanese perceive the latest increase in military threats from the PRC and whether or not fears of war or invasion are driving political preferences. I then discuss how Hong Kong has become a salient political issue Taiwan in light of the 2019 Ant-Extradition Bill protests and how public opinion on Hong Kong varies. Finally, I show how Taiwanese perceive COVID-19, its effects on perceptions of the PRC, and how Taiwanese feel about the government’s initial response to the pandemic.

Speaker's Bio

Dr. Lev Nachman is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Harvard University Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies. He holds his Ph.D in political science from the University of California-Irvine and MA from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. His research has been funded by the Fulbright Program, Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Fieldwork, the Stimson Center, and the Jack Peltason Center for the Study of Democracy, and the Global Taiwan Institute. His research has been published in academic journals including Political Research Quarterly and Asian Survey. He occasionally contributes op-eds on East Asian Politics to Foreign Policy and The Monkey Cage, and comments regularly on East Asian politics and has been featured in outlets including the New York Times and CNN.

Organiser: Centre of Taiwan Studies

Contact email: hl55@soas.ac.uk