In this study, we conducted a quasi-experiment to examine the effects of exposure to the 2012
Taiwan “presidential” debates on the attitudes of college students from Taiwan and Mainland China.
The study introduced the concept of "political support" to integrate different types of political attitudes.
College Students' political supports were tested by questionnaire before and after the debates. The
findings indicate that the debates had immediate and significant influences on the students’ support
for democratic principles. The results also show that young people’ diffuse political support would be
affected by the short-term stimulus, which means the short-term stimulus from the televised debates
probably affect the political perception of young people.