On April 12, activists take part in a protest outside the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, Japan, against the Japanese government’s plan to release treated water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. Photo: AFP

In contrast to the strong opposition in other countries and regions neighboring Japan, Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) only expressed its concerns over the Fukushima nuclear wastewater dump, which sparked huge backlash on the island with 88 percent of netizens condemning the party's move.

Mainland observers noted on Thursday that DPP's opposition to the Japanese government is merely a publicity stunt to try to pacify Taiwan residents, as it will never dare to offend the US and Japanese governments. "Bending its knees" to Washington and Tokyo is in fact DPP authority's consistent style. 

A survey conducted by yahoo.com asking netizens if they think the DPP authorities have spoken up for the people over Japan's decision found that 88.3 percent of the 5,200 participants said no, according to the Taiwan media outlet China Times. 

About 71.9 percent respondents said they were very worried and 10.6 percent somewhat worried if Japan discharges the Fukushima wastewater into the sea in two years. 

Although residents of the island, especially those working in the fishing industry, expressed deep concerns and strong opposition to the Japanese decision, DPP officials, including Taiwan's representative to Japan, failed to voice worries over the issue.  

The DPP stated that they expressed their opposition to the Japanese government in a written letter on Tuesday. But 84.3 percent of the 5,200 poll participants said that the response from the DPP was too weak.

Li Xiaobing, an expert on Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, from Nankai University, told the Global Times on Thursday that the DPP authority's flabby response once again exposed it can trade people's safety and health to flatter Washington and Tokyo.

"This is an old trick from Tsai's government," Li said. Given that the weak response faces a public backlash, the DPP authority is likely to launch some measures on marine environmental protection to appease the locals and avoid losing votes.

Li warned the DPP authority of the consequences as the fishing industry, an important source of income for the island, will face a huge blow if the Fukushima wastewater is dumped into the sea.