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submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

More than two-thirds of Taiwanese people would be willing to fight off a Chinese invasion of their island, a new survey found. Just over half of respondents believe that the United States would send its military to help.

Most Taiwanese people would be willing to defend their island against a Chinese attack, according to a poll published Wednesday. Most also believe that such an attack is highly unlikely in the next five years.

The poll, commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, was released a day before Taiwan's National Day.

Should Beijing attack, 67.8% of the 1,214 people surveyed said they would be "very willing or somewhat willing" to fight in defense of Taiwan; 23.6% said they would not be.

Almost 64% said China's "territorial ambition" in Taiwan represents "a serious threat." At the same time, 61% said it was not likely China would invade soon.

Some 52% of respondents said that they believed key ally the United States would come to their aid in the invent of a Chinese invasion. Yet, only 40% believed that the US would send its navy to "break" a potential blockade.

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[-] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 50 points 2 months ago

I think generally most people are willing to defend their home against foreign invaders if it is at all realistic/possible. I have heard people say about refugees "Why dont they defend their homes, then they wouldnt have to flee". But this obviously only makes sense if there is a chance of winning. When your enemies are overwhelmingly more powerful and you have no allies, then what is the point in dying for nothing.

With Taiwan they know that they have a decent military and worldwide support. So this makes sense to me.

[-] ours@lemmy.world 27 points 2 months ago

And many flee civil wars which are more complicated than kicking out a foreign invaders.

[-] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 2 months ago

Yeah good point. When things arent easily sorted into "good" and "bad" then getting people to put together an organized resistance is much much harder.

[-] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 months ago

That's when a dehumanized other comes in handy.

[-] BMTea@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

A Syrian friend in Turkey once explained to me that Turks (who love playing tough but haven't fought a conventional war since WWI) tell Syrian refugees that they should have stayed and fought... and he'd tell them that no matter how brave you are - and Syrians are in my opinion uniquely brave - "you cannot defeat tanks and aircraft with Kashinkovs. Look at Ukraine, where they have a modern military that is weaker. Look how many left. But Syrians are supposed to fight Russian bombers and Assad's tanks with their hands?"

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this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2024
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