The Evolution and Examination of Popular Opinions Toward Taiwan and China Across Different Regions of the World

Research and Publication Grant Awardee 2024

The relationship between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China has dramatically attracted the attention of the academic community for many years. The public’s interest in the relationship between these two countries has grown significantly in recent years, particularly following Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022.

Despite this, few academic studies have explored the attitudes of individuals in other countries towards Taiwan and China. Moreover, during Tsai Ing-wen’s presidency, there was a lack of research on the public’s views on Taiwan. Additionally, while international research institutions such as the PEW Research Center, the World Values Survey, and other academic studies analyse the opinions of individuals residing in various regions of the world regarding China, there is a notable scarcity of research that delves into public opinion and interests in various countries concerning Taiwan, with a specific focus on the events influencing these interests.

Hence, this project aims to analyse global public opinion trends towards Taiwan and China during the presidency of Tsai Ing-wen, encompassing countries from various regions of the world. Specifically, this project examines the reasons and events that led to the shift in public interest towards Taiwan and China. In this context, the project delves deeply into the European perspective, using Germany as an example. It also explores the Asian perspective, with a focus on Indonesia, the Philippines, and Japan. Additionally, within the scope of this project, besides examining public interest in Taiwan and China, the academic literature in Türkiye related to topics concerning Taiwan and China is also reviewed.

The project began by comparing the Japanese case, which is geographically close to Taiwan and China, with the German case. I presented the interests of Japan and Germany towards these two countries at the 6th Wenzao European Forum with the research titled “Analysis of European and Asian interests in Taiwan and China during the era of President Tsai Ing-wen: The cases of Germany and Japan.” In both countries, there was a significant increase in interest in Taiwan following Nancy Pelosi’s visit. While interest in Taiwan increased significantly in Japan from time to time, there was no notable rise in interest in Taiwan in Germany, except during international crises and cross-strait tensions. Geographical proximity has been shown to play an especially important role in public interest in Taiwan.

Considering their geographical proximity, the interests of Filipinos and Indonesians in Taiwan and China were examined. However, unlike the comparison between Japan and Germany, the cases of Indonesia and the Philippines were discussed separately.

In this regard, the Indonesian case was first examined, and the study was published in May 2024 as a book chapter under the title “Endonezyalıların Tayvan ve Çin’e Yönelik İlgilerinin Google Trendler Verileri ile İncelenmesi” [Examining the interests of Indonesians towards Taiwan and China with Google Trends data] in the book titled Türkiye’de Endonezya Çalışmaları-II [Indonesian Studies in Türkiye-II], published by Ankara University. In the Indonesian case, it was determined that significant events such as sport events, natural disasters in Taiwan, the Covid-19 epidemic, pandemic-related restrictions, and Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan increased interest in Taiwan. Interest in China has been fuelled by sports-related events, the Covid-19 epidemic, diplomatic standoffs like trade tensions between the USA and China, and internal issues such as the Uyghur and Hong Kong issues, as well as the incident involving the Chinese Long March 5B rocket falling into the Indian Ocean.

Lastly, the book chapter titled “Taiwan Studies in Türkiye and the evolution of literature focusing on Taiwan,” which examines the themes discussed in academic literature in Türkiye regarding Taiwan, is set to be published in the book Taiwan Studies in Türkiye-IV by Ankara University in October 2024.

In concluding these academic studies, I must not overlook the European Association of Taiwan Studies. Receiving the 2023 EATS Research and Publication Grant was a significant honour for me and a crucial step in my academic journey. I wish to extend my gratitude to the European Association of Taiwan Studies for awarding me the 2023 EATS Research and Publication Grant. EATS’ support also enabled me, as an early-career researcher who has recently completed a PhD, to engage with scholars, share, discuss and gain insight from various ideas and perspectives during the conference I attended as part of the EATS project. Furthermore, thanks to the EATS grant, I have been able to advance my academic career through the academic studies I have published and will publish within the EATS project.