De Boer - The Polls - Changing Public Attitudes Towards China - Public Opin Q-1980-44!2!267-73

8/8/2019 De Boer - The Polls - Changing Public Attitudes Towards China - Public Opin Q-1980-44!2!267-73

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The Polls:Changing Attitudes and PoliciesToward ChinaCONNIE DE BOER

A NUMBER of far-reaching changes have occurred inside China duringrecent years in the areas of administration, ideology, and economy. Thesedevelopments, which also include such events as the fall of the "Gang ofFour" and the new 10-year plan which aims at rapid modernization, areaccompanied by a growing rapprochement between China and Westerncountries. Overtures have also been undertaken from the West. In 1971China was admitted to the United Nations, in 1972 President Nixon visitedChina, and late in 1978 China was finally recognized by the United States.In addition, both parties have been seeking reciprocal trade relations.All these changes are reflected in the public opinion with respect toChina. Even the designation of China in the questions used in publicopinion studies affords a striking illustration of the changing attitudetoward China: In 1979 the name People's Republic of China is used, andthere is reference to Communist China only in those cases where adistinction must be made from Taiwan in a question. Up to 1971 the onlynames used in the questions were China, Red China, and CommunistChina. All four of these designations were handled from 1971 to 1979theperiod of transition. This pattern applies only to American opinion studies.In France, IFOP used the name Chinese People's Republic as early as1966, and in Great Britain the designation is usually just China (with theexception of the years 1962 and 1963).The opinion surveys collected for this Polls section have for the mostpart been carried out in the United States. To allow comparisons to bemade, materials have in some cases also been included from Great Britain,West Germany, the Netherlands, and France. The reason for thisgeographic restriction is that the changes in the American public opinionwith respect to China are more spectacular than those in the countries ofwestern Europe. Consider this example:Regarding the entry of China into the United Nations, the percentage ofadvocates of this accession among the American public rose from 7 percentin 1954 to 45 percent in 1971. In Great Britain the percentage of supportersduring roughly the same period remained more or less constant at about 50percent.

Appreciation for China generally changed in the United States during theperiod 1967-1979 from emphatically negative to a positive attitude. China'swar with Vietnam, which broke out after the diplomatic recognition ofPublic Opinion Quarterly 1980 by The Trustee s of Columbia Univ ersityPublished by Elsevier North Holland, Inc. O033-362X/80/0O44-267/S1.75

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2 6 8 CONNE de BOERChina, deflected the trend somewhat and the Chinese image in the UnitedStates was again impaired. But diplomatic recognition of China isnevertheless supported by an ample majority of the American public. Highhopes are placed in the expected growth of trade with China. Disapprovalis only felt for the effects which the diplomatic recognition of China has ormay have upon the relations between the United States and Taiwan.Our sincere thanks go to the following institutions for their readypermission to publish the results of surveys conducted by them:AIPOAmerican Institute for Public Opinion, USACBSCBS News, USADMSInstitut Fur Demoskopie, Allensbach, West GermanyGallup InternationalHarrisABC News-Harris Survey, USAIFOPInstitut Francais d'Opinion Publique, FranceNIPONetherlands Instituut voor de Publieke Opinie, NetherlandsSOCSocial Surveys (Gallup Poll) Ltd., Great BritainVeldkampVeldkamp Marktonderzoek BV, Netherlands

All data are based on nationwide representative samples of adults. Thedata indicated with the research results are consistently those on which thepolls were published. Breakdowns are available when the table is markedwith an asterisk. Those interested in these data may apply to: The PollsArchives, Weteringschans 100-02, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Changing Attitudes Toward ChinaUSACBS: How would yo u rate your feelings toward different countries? Are yourfeelings toward [read country ] generally favorable, generally unfavorable, or neutral?(Jan 1979) Favorable Neutral Unfavorable No OpinionMainland China 26% 44% 24% 6%Russia 15 38 41 6U S A A I P O : How far up or down the scale would you rate China?1967 May 1972* 1973*

3% f1220 1017102 5 67

46 ,55

+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1- 1- 2- 3- 4- 5

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THE POLLS: CHINA 2 6 9USAHarris: As far as you are concerned, do you feel that [read list] is a close ally ofthe U.S., is friendly but not a close ally, is notfirendly but not an enemy, or is an enemyof the U.S.?

The Soviet Union19761979

The People's Repub-lic of China19761979

CloseAllyWo3

1%6

Friendly20 %21

22 %45

NotFriendly39 %38

43%23

Enemy30 %27

25%9

Not Sure10%11

9%17

USACBS: Do you think that right now the United States government is more favor-able towards Russia, more favorable towards China, or is our policy evenhandedtowards these two countries? (Mar 1979)

Russia 10%China 34Evenhanded 37N o opinion 19

Great BritianSOC: Do you think that Britian's relationship with these countries is tooJuly 1979

9%3445139

3638181517609

FranceIFOP: Which opinion: good or bad, or neither of these, do you have of theChinese People's Republic? (Nov 1966)

Good 11%Neither good nor bad 24Ba d 32N o answer 33

close, not close enough.Russia

Too closeNot close enoughAbout rightDon't know

ChinaToo closeNot close enoughAbout rightDon't knowUSAToo closeNot close enoughAbout rightDon't know

or about right?Mar 19678%374114934

282925135012

June 197815%2641198293825

12166012

Jan 197912%274318

734382111146213

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27 0 CONNE de BOER

Netherlands NIPO a n d Veldkamp: Would you please look at this list and tell me whichwords, in your opinion, describe the Chinese people best? Select as many as you wish.Which words do you choose?NIPO

Peace-lovingHardworkingProgressivePracticalGenerousIntelligentSelf-possessedBraveConceitedDomineeringBackwardCruelNo answer

19489%1243279922201254

19664%4423104151917547233712

19683%3518102810176

40223417

Veldkamp197316%64441831925235301216

(m=mult ip le answers)Admittance of China as a Member of the UN

USA AIP O: Do you think that Comm unist China sho uld or should not be admitted as amem ber of the United Nations?1950July 1954Aug 1954195619571958Oct 1961Feb 1964Apr 1966Feb 1969Oct 1970May 1971Great BritainSOC:

Should11%78111317181525333545Do you think Chinashould not be admitted as a mem ber of the

(B1PO)(SOC) June 1953Oct 1962Sep 1963Dec 1964Sep 1965Oct 1966Sep 1967Feb 1968Feb 1970Apr 1970Sep 1970Dec 1970May 1971July 1971

Should52%45485441 '4 9 .4754454247515459

Should Not58%7879747066657155544938[Red China, in 1962 andUnited Nations?

Should Not21%34231319242523222426232016

No Opinion31%15131517171714201316171963] should or

Don't Know27 %21293340272823333426262625

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THE POLLS: CHINA 2 7 1W e s t G e r m a n y D M S : The United Nations wants to organize a vote before the end ofthe year on whether the People's Republic of China, or Red C hina, should or should notbe adm itted to the United Nations. At this time, Na tionalist China , or Form osa, is theonly representative of China in the U nited Nations. You see here three views on thisquestion. Which of these would you be in favor of? (Oct/Nov 1971*)I am in favor of the People 's Republic of Red China being admitted to theUnited Nat ion s and of Nat ional ist China remaining a me mb er of the UN . 49%I am in favor of the People 's Republic of China being admitted to the UN,to take the place of Nationalis t China, which should then no longer be amem ber of the U N . 13%I am in favor of Nationalis t China remaining the only representative ofChina in the UN, and of the People 's Republic of China not beingadm it ted to the U N . 9%Un decid ed, no opinion 29%

Diplomatic Recognition of the People's Republic of ChinaU S A H a r r i s : / / has been argued that we could deal with the People's Republic of C hina(Comm unist China) better if we officially recognized them. This would allow us to h avean ambassador in China as we have in other Comm unist countries. Do you favor oroppose official recognition of Red China?Favor Oppose Not Sure1966 4 3% 3 3% 24%1967 41 34 251968 39 44 171971 55 20 251977 62 18 201978 66 25 - 9The United Stales and the People's Repub lic of China have agreed to full diploma ticrecognition of each other, including the exchange of ambassadors. Do you favor oroppose our official recognition of the People's Repub lic of China ? (Jan 1979)Favor Oppose Not SureTota l 60 % 27% 13%Age: 18-2 9 66 24 1030 -49 65 25 1050 -64 52 32 1665 and ov er 50 28 22Edu catio n: 8th grad e 34 37 29High sch ool 55 31 14College 73 20 7All in all, do you feel that President Carter, in breaking our diploma tic ties with Taiwa n,gave up a reasonable amount to get agreement with the Chinese, or that he gave up toomuch? (Mar 1979) Gave up a reasonab le am ou nt 38 %Gave up too mu ch 45Not sur e 17As you look back on it now, do you think we were right or wrong to have agreed to officialdiplom atic recognition of the People's Repub lic o f China ? (Mar 1979)More r ight 62 %More wrong 22N eith er (vol.) 2Not su re 14

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272 CONNE de BOERNow let me ask you about some of the specific parts of the U.S.-Chinese agreement todiplomatic recognition. Do you approve or disapprove of the U.S. agreeing that [readlist] (Jan 1979)

Approve Disapprove Not SureWe would not sell military arms to the People'sRepublic of China 72% 21% 7%We would withdraw official diplomatic recognitionof the Nationalist'government in Taiwan, butwould continue to trade with them 45 44 11We would continue to sell military arms to theNationalist government in Taiwan 43 47 10By 1980, we will cancel our defensive alliance withthe Nationalist government in Taiwan 32 52 16We recognize that Taiwan is part of mainlandChina, which is controlled by the Communists 29 57 14Gallup InternationalAustralia: Do you think Australia should or should not recognizethe Peking Government?

Recognize Don't Recognize Undecided1951 22% - 46% 32%1958 4 1 ' 34 251964 35 37 281969 47 33 20Do you think Australia should or should not recognize the Communist government in ,Peking as the Government of China?1970 49% 35% 16%1971 56 19 25U S A H a r r i s : Should we end our defensive alliance with the Nationalist government onTaiwan 1976 1977 1978Continue defensive alliance 65% 57% 64%End defensive alliance 6 12 19Not sure 29 31 17U S A C B S : Do you think that Jimm y Carter should have pushed for closer ties withCommunist China even though that meant breaking off relations with the ChineseNationalists on Taiwan? Should Should Not No OpinionJan 1977 28% 42% 30%Dec 1978 27 45 28Jan 1979 32 46 22USAHarris: Our country has officially recognized the Nationalist Chinese governmentin Taiwan for many years. We also have a defensive treaty alliance with that governmentand sell them military weapons, such as warplanes. Communist China feels strongly thatthe United States cannot recognize the Nationalist Chinese on Taiwan and also havenormal relations with the Communist Chinese government. Should we continue ourdiplomatic recognition of Taiwan, or should we withdraw that recognition in order tohave better relations with Communist China?

1977 1978Continue recognition 62% 66%Withdraw recognition 11 19Not sure 27 15

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THE POLLS: CHINA 2 7 3USAAIPO: Some people feel that establishing relations with the People's Republic ofChina was an important enough reason to break off diplomatic relations with Taiwan.Other people feel that it was wrong to end relations with Taiwan, in order to establishrelations with the People's Republic of China. Which position comes closest to your ownview? (Jan. 1979) W ro n g 4 7 %

Important enough 35No opinion 18

Trade with the People's Repubh'c of ChinaUSAHarris: Would you like to see [read list] happen or not? (Oct. 1977)

Like Not Like Not SureAn agreement between the U.S. and China oncontrol of nuclear weaponsMore exchange of cultural missions between thetwo countriesIncreased trade of sports teams between the two

countriesIncreased trade in nonstrategic goods between theU.S. and the People's Republic of ChinaWould you like to see [read list] happen or not? (Sep. 1978)Increased trade in nonstrategic goods between theU.S. and Communist ChinaThe U.S. work together with Communist China asa force against RussiaThe sale of U.S. electronic military defense sys-tems to Communist ChinaNow let me ask you, would you like to see the U.S. trade more with [China], less,or about as much as it does now?

Mar. 1977 Mar. 1979More Less As Much Not Sure More Less As Much Not Sure30% 25% 33% 12% 40% 24% 28% 8%

Great BritainSOC: Would you like to see every effort made to increase trade withCommunist China or are you against such a policy?

Sep 1963 Jan 1979Increase trade 43% 58%Against policy 26 21Don't know 31 21

7 9%7675641978)ike6 2 %2011

10 %121321

Not Like30%7181

11%121215

Not Sure8%9

8

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De Boer - The Polls - Changing Public Attitudes Towards China - Public Opin Q-1980-44!2!267-73

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