TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The majority of Taiwanese have expressed positive views about the meeting, hailed as historic, between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month, according to a poll published on Friday (April 14).

About 61% of the respondents approved of the meeting while 21.8% said they opposed it. 11.7% did not have an opinion and 5.5% said they did not know, per the survey by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation (TPOF).

People favoring the meeting outnumbered those against it in all age groups, with an overwhelming 70% in groups 25-44 saying they approved of it.

The findings suggest a tendency among the public for stronger engagement with the U.S., particularly in higher-level exchanges. The results also reflect a long-standing political predisposition in Taiwan toward the U.S. that has shaped voters, said TPOF Chairman You Ying-lung (游盈隆).

The survey was conducted between April 9-11 targeting adults ages 20 or older, generating 1,068 valid responses with a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Tsai met McCarthy in California during a stopover on her visit to Taiwan’s Central American allies amid Beijing’s protest, and was followed by retaliatory military maneuvers. Taking place concurrently with Tsai’s trip was former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) visit to China, over which the public was divided.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, right, shakes hands with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen after delivering statements to the press after a Bipartisan Leadership Meeting at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., April 5, 2023. (AP photo)