A survey has found more than 44 percent of Taiwan residents are unaware of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and don't know much about the Chinese mainland.

The survey, conducted by the Taiwan-based magazine "Global Views", showed that the 44 percent of residents surveyed don't know that "the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be held in Beijing".

It showed that Taiwan people's of knowledge about the mainland came mainly from television, newspaper and family or friend talk.

More than 70 percent of Taiwan residents welcome mainland enterprises to invest in the island and support increasing the number of mainland visitors to Taiwan, the survey showed.

It found that 64 percent of the respondents applauded the idea of allowing more mainland students to study in Taiwan.

Young people in Taiwan who have received higher education, those living in the northern part of the island, and those who frequently visit the mainland "tend to be supportive of and open about" cross-Strait exchanges, according to the magazine.

This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Taiwan authority partially lifting its ban on islanders visiting the mainland on Nov. 2, 1987.

Statistics show nearly 400,000 people from Taiwan currently live on the mainland at the end of September this year, including more than 18,000 who have settled down.

Up to the end of September, there are about 270,000 "cross-Strait marriages" between people from the mainland and Taiwan.

By the end of September, Taiwan people have made more than 45.83 million visits to the mainland, whereas mainlanders have made only 1.56 million visits to the island due to restrictive policies of the Taiwan authority.

(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2007)