POLL: Taiwanese willing to stay and fight China after watching Ukraine

A poll released Thursday found that people in Taiwan have become more willing to go to war to defend the island from China following Russia’ invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

70.2% of islanders surveyed by the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society said they were willing to go to war to defend the country in the event of an attack.

This is almost double the number from a survey from Dec. 28, where 40.3% of respondents said they would go to war for the island. That survey, conducted by a Taipei-based magazine, indicated 51.3% opposed going to war.

Analysts say this marked increase is due to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which made the possibility of a conflict with Beijing more tangible for the island’s residents. Taiwanese military experts have been studying the war to refine its own battle strategy in the event China attempts to take its small, democratic neighbor back by force.

“Although most Taiwanese people do not agree that Ukraine today will become Taiwan tomorrow, they sympathize with the stress and suffering of the Ukrainian people in the face of Russia’s invasion,” said Society director Wang Kung-yi to the South China Morning Post.

The public opinion poll also found that the war in Ukraine had toughened Taiwanese people’s attitudes on other defense issues. 70.4% now supported the national reservist training program, which was long mocked as a five-day break from work. Taiwan extended the number of training days from five to 14 earlier this month.

Almost 70% of respondents supported extending the country’s mandatory military service from four months to a full year for men ages 18 to 38.

The poll also indicated less confidence that the U.S. would come to the island’s aid in the case of an attack, seeing how they did not sent troops to Ukraine. 42.7% of Taiwanese believed America would do so for them, down from 55.1% for the same question in a 2020 Society poll.

Beijing has thus maintained a position of supporting Russia economically while blaming the U.S. and NATO for Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.