東亞民眾是否認知到中國崛起?是否肯定中國崛起對亞洲帶來正面的影響?是否覺得中國模式是該國學習的對象?Min-Hun Huang與Yun-Han Chu的文章運用第三波「亞洲民主動態調查」(Asian barometer survey, ABS)的資料,僅回答前兩個問題,殊為可惜,本論文運用同一筆資料,繼續回答第三個問題。研究結果發現,包括中國在內的亞洲13國家與地區19,434位受訪民眾中,有7.7%受訪者認為「中國模式」可以作為該國未來發展學習的對象,相對於美國的23.1%,比率可謂不高。若以國家來看,沒有一個國家優先選擇「中國模式」,卻有菲律賓、柬埔寨、韓國、中國等四個國家的受訪者,選擇美國的比率高於任何國家。菲律賓、韓國選擇美國作為學習的對象不令人意外,但是連中國自己的民眾都偏好學習美國,顯示中國雖在亞洲崛起,但「中國模式」在亞洲並不具有吸引力,美國在此地區的「軟實力」仍屬第一。進一步運用「複層次非線性模型分析」發現,傾向「中國模式」的個體層次變項有:中國是亞洲最有影響力國家的認知、中國對亞洲的影響力是正面的、對中國有較高的民主評價等;但取向於自由民主價值的受訪者,卻不認同「中國模式」。在總體層次變項上,與中國地緣政治關係愈緊張,愈不傾向「中國模式」,顯示「中國威脅論」與地緣政治有關。
Do East Asians recognize the rise of China? Do they welcome China's rise as beneficial for the Asia region? Do they believe their countries can learn from China's development model? Research by Min-Hua Huang and Yun-Han Chu uses data from the Asia Barometer Survey to examine the first two questions. This article applies the data to look at the third question. The research shows that of 19,434 respondents in 13 East Asian countries, 7.7% view China as a model for their countries future development, compared to 23.1% who identify the United States as a model. Aggregate data for each country in the survey shows that no country's public views China as a preferred model. Moreover, in the Philippines, Cambodia, South Korea and China, more respondents identify the US as a model than China. While it is not surprising that more Filipinos and South Koreans prefer America as a model, the fact that more Chinese view the United States as a model rather than their own country shows that despite China's rise, China's development model has limited appeal in Asia and the United States continues to lead the region in terms of "soft power." Multi-level non-linear model statistical analysis shows that with respect to individual-level variables, respondents who see China as a model tend to perceive China as the most influential country in Asia, view China's influence in Asia as positive, and have relatively more positive assessments of China's level of democracy. However, respondents oriented toward liberal democratic values do not identify with China as a model. At the macro-level, respondents from countries with tense geopolitical relations with China show less preference for China as a model, showing that perceptions of a China threat are influenced by geopolitics.