R.O.C. political life is becoming more and more democratic. Since Taiwanization, have feelings in the R.O.C. towards the Overseas Chinese hanged too? Do people here look with equal favor on all groups among the Overseas Chinese, or do they feel closer to some than to others?

In a Sinorama, poll, 55.9% of those surveyed believed that the "Overseas Chinese" include both the long-standing overseas communities and the groups of new emigrants from Taiwan, mainland China and Hong Kong, showing that people here feel some affinity for all Chinese people overseas.

But there are differences of degree in these universal bonds of fraternal affection. Of those interviewed, 42% felt that new emigrants from Taiwan have the closest relations with the R.O.C., followed by the traditional Overseas Chinese at 22.9%. This corresponds to the rise of local consciousness in Taiwan in recent years, but has not reached the point of people believing that apart from recent migrants from Taiwan, the Overseas Chinese have nothing to do with Taiwan.

Should the government give special assistance to those with whom our relations are closest? Surprisingly, 59.2% believed the government should give special help to long-standing Overseas Chinese--more than the 53.7% who supported assistance for recent emigrants from Taiwan.

The reasons for this become apparent when we look at the next group of questions, about the contribution these various groups of Overseas Chinese have made to the R.O.C.. Generally speaking, interviewees did not feel that the Overseas Chinese contribute anything. Some of those who stated that the old Overseas Chinese had made a very great contribution expressly added that "That was before, I don't feel they contribute anything now." But there were differences in the extent of this general denial. At 62.9%, the number believing the long-standing Overseas Chinese contributed little or nothing were substantially fewer than the 78.9% who held the same view of new emigrants from Taiwan.

Cross-analysis reveals another especially noteworthy phenomenon: the higher a person's level of education, the greater they believed the contribution made by old Overseas Chinese to be. This would seem to show that education does substantially influence people's understanding of history.

On the subject of assistance for the Overseas Chinese, one can also distinguish different degrees of affinity for our fellow Chinese abroad. For instance, a relatively large number of interviewees felt that it is OK to give the children of long-standing Overseas Chinese priority for places at university in the R.O.C., and perhaps this is related to the fact that many of the students who returned to study in the R.O.C. in the past were the children of old Overseas Chinese. But as far as the rights to return and participate in politics or to receive business start-up loans were concerned, which are indicative of an even closer relationship, the greatest numbers favored reserving these privileges for new emigrants from Taiwan.

Cross-analysis shows that interviewees had widely varying attitudes towards the old Overseas Chinese. Generally speaking, people with higher education, those of mainland ancestry and KMT supporters tended to believe that the government should take care of the old Overseas Chinese. But interestingly those who believed that the government should look after the new emigrants from Taiwan were from the same groups, and not people of Taiwanese descent and DPP supporters as we had imagined might be the case.

What is even more noteworthy is that over 70% of those interviewed felt equal affinity to all groups of Overseas Chinese. With respect to priority places for study in the R.O.C., the right to participate in R.O.C. politics and eligibility for business loans, around 30% in each case believed that all categories of Overseas Chinese should be eligible, while over 40% believed that none should be eligible; but 77.1% believed that all categories should receive assistance with Chinese-language education overseas, with only 0.8% believing none should be eligible. Clearly people in the R.O.C. attach great importance to maintaining Chinese culture, and are willing to help all Chinese with this, regardless of their origin.