《TAIPEI TIMES》 Many Americans say Taiwan vital to US security

Taiwanese and US flags flutter outside the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology in Taoyuan on March 30. Photo: Cheng I-hwa, AFP

GENERATION GAP: On nearly every issue, younger respondents were 20 to 30 percentage points less likely than older one to express concern about China

/ Staff writer, with CNA Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe Taiwan’s security is important for US security and prosperity, the results of the 2026 Reagan Institute Summer Survey released on Monday showed.

Sixty-six percent of respondents said they agreed that Taiwan’s security matters to the US, including 72 percent of Republicans and 62 percent of Democrats, according to the survey conducted by the California-based Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.

The survey found that bipartisan consensus around China-related issues is one of the strongest areas of agreement among Americans on foreign policy challenges.

Seventy-four percent of respondents said they were concerned that China could attempt to take Taiwan by force, 75 percent were concerned over China’s military buildup and 74 percent were concerned over its human rights abuses, the survey showed.

The concerns extended to foreign policy preferences, with 59 percent of respondents saying that the US should publicly pressure China to release political prisoners such as media mogul Jimmy Lai （黎智英）, founder of the now-shuttered Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily （蘋果日報）, even if doing so increased bilateral tensions, the report said.

US domestic issues linked to China drew even higher levels of concern.

More than four in five respondents （82 percent） said they were concerned about China’s role in the flow of fentanyl into the US, including 85 percent of Democrats and 82 percent of Republicans.

Other top concerns included Chinese purchases of US land （80 percent）, Beijing’s ability to spy on Americans （81 percent）, and technology theft and unfair trade practices （79 percent）.

Views were more divided over US President Donald Trump’s approach to China, the survey showed.

Following Trump’s May summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping （習近平）, 44 percent of respondents said the administration’s policy was “about right,” including 59 percent of Republicans.

Democrats were more divided, with 37 percent saying the administration was not tough enough on China and 32 percent saying the White House’s approach was about right.

Only 12 percent of respondents overall said the administration had been too tough on Beijing, the report showed.

The survey also found a clear generational divide, with concern over China increasing with age. On nearly every issue measured, the youngest respondents were 20 to 30 percentage points less likely than their oldest counterparts to express concern.

However, human rights issues showed a smaller age gap. Concern over China’s censorship, surveillance and restrictions on free expression was shared by 73 percent of the youngest respondents and 75 percent of the oldest.

On human rights abuses in Hong Kong and against Uighurs, 64 percent of younger adults and 77 percent of older respondents said they were concerned.

One question the survey did not address was how Americans felt about intervening militarily if China were to attack Taiwan.

The nationwide survey was conducted with a total sample of 1,555 respondents, who were interviewed by cellphone or landlines, or who completed online questionnaires. It has an estimated margin of error of 2.5 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute is a nonprofit organization established by former US president Ronald Reagan. It describes itself as a nonpartisan organization that operates a policy institute in Washington.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES