Taiwan National Security Survey

Taiwan is a democratic nation facing serious security threats from mainland China—its largest trading partner and top source of foreign direct investment. Managing this tension between economic ties and national security requires careful navigation. While China’s military threat looms large, it remains uncertain whether the United States would intervene in the event of an invasion. These security concerns shape Taiwan’s domestic politics, as parties and leaders weigh competing approaches to managing cross-strait relations.

Public opinion plays a key role in shaping Taiwan’s policy choices. To track these views over time, Dr. Emerson Niou organized a workshop at Duke University in 2002 with Tun-jen Cheng, John Hsieh, Tse-min Lin, T.Y. Wang, and Vincent Wei-cheng Wang to develop a dedicated survey on national security. The first Taiwan National Security Studies (TNSS) survey was conducted in December 2002, with the most recent in September 2025. TNSS surveys from 2002 to 2020 were funded by Duke University; the 2022 and 2024 waves were supported by Academia Sinica; and the 2025 survey received Duke funding again.

All TNSS survey data is publicly available and widely used by the academic community to support research on Taiwan’s security and public opinion.

For further assistance, please contact the data manager Professor Austin Horng-En Wang, at austin.wang@unlv.edu.