Majority of Taiwan people favor friendly cross-Strait relations: survey

The majority of Taiwan people favor friendly relations across the Taiwan Strait, according to a latest survey released by the Grassroots Influence Foundation on Saturday.

Of the 1,076 respondents interviewed via telephone from August 13 to 18, 64 percent agreed that Taiwan should maintain friendly relations with the Chinese mainland while only 15 percent supported the idea that the island should compete with and confront the mainland, according to the survey.

The survey showed that there is a common expectation among Taiwan people that the two sides across the Strait should maintain amicable relations and work for mutual benefits, said Chen Sung-po, chief of the foundation's survey department.

Another survey released by Taiwan-based China Times on August 14 also showed that 58.1 percent of the respondents favored more cross-Strait exchanges and among the respondents aged between 20 and 29, 72.4 percent supported more frequent exchanges.