TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Only 15% of Taiwanese think their country should be close to China, less than half of the figure recorded the previous year, according to the results of an opinion poll published by the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (JTEA) Friday (March 18).

The main topic of the annual poll covering 2021 was the Taiwanese attitude toward Japan, CNA reported. A record level of 46% of respondents said Japan was the country Taiwan should be the closest to from now on.

While 31% of people in the previous survey named China, the new 2021 edition found sympathy for the communist neighbor had plunged by more than half to 15%, JTEA said.

Support for Japan had only fallen slightly in the 50-to-64 age group, but more than half of Taiwanese younger than 49 and older than 65 expressed sympathy for the country. Compared to the 2018 survey, the rise was most obvious with the group aged between 40 and 49.

China’s falling image allowed the United States to move into second place behind Japan, rising by 9% from 2018.

The survey was conducted by Eastern Online Co., Ltd. between Jan. 5 and Jan. 20, and obtained 1,068 valid responses with a margin of error of 3.06%.