
Taipei
A record 59 pct of Taiwanese people picked Japan as the foreign country they like the most, a poll by the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association showed Wednesday.
The proportion rose 3 percentage points from the previous survey three years ago.
China ranked second with 8 pct, up 2 points, followed by the United States with 4 pct, down one point.
Asked about which country Taiwan should have the closest relationship with, 37 pct, the largest share of respondents, chose Japan.
China made up ground on Japan with 31 pct support, up 9 points.
The survey was conducted between Feb. 14 and 27 for Taiwanese people aged between 20 and 80, gathering 1,003 answers.
The Taipei office of the Tokyo-based association acts as the de facto Japanese embassy in the absence of diplomatic ties between Japan and Taiwan.
[Jiji Press]