Nearly six out of 10 voters disagree with the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) plan to oust Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) as its presidential candidate, according to a survey released by the Cross-Strait Policy Association (CSPA) yesterday, with nearly 70 percent saying KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) would not win the election even if he manages to squeeze out Hung.
The survey, conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday among people aged 20 or older, showed that 59.6 percent of respondents find the KMT’s plan to revoke Hung’s nomination at an extempore party congress unreasonable, compared with only 15.3 percent who support the plan.
Even among those identifying themselves as pan-blue supporters, 62.1 percent said they disapprove of having Hung removed as the KMT’s candidate in such a manner.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
In an unexpected result for the KMT leadership, which has cited Hung’s dismal support ratings and pro-unification cross-strait stance as the reasons for wanting to force her out, the majority — or 75.8 percent — of respondents believe the KMT is responsible for its gloomy election prospects.
Only 5.8 percent of those polled attribute the party’s slim chance of winning in the January presidential and legislative elections to Hung, the survey showed, with 51.1 percent saying the KMT has not mobilized all the resources at its disposal to campaign for Hung.
The poll found that 68 percent of respondents do not think Chu will be elected president next year if he replaces Hung in the race.
Contrary to most KMT members’ belief that Chu would be a stronger candidate than Hung, the chairman garnered only 19 percent support among the respondents, compared with Hung’s 18.5 percent, should he vie for presidency in the deputy legislative speaker’s stead.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) still maintains an overwhelming support rating of between 40.2 percent and 42.1 percent, regardless of who the KMT nominates, the survey showed.
Asked who would be the most suitable successor to Chu, who has pledged to step down as KMT chairman if the party loses the presidential election, 49 percent favor Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), while 13.7 percent prefer former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and 6 percent support Hung, while 25.5 percent declined to answer.
CSPA deputy director-general Tan Yao-nan (譚耀南) said the poll results would further put in question the KMT’s rationale for replacing Hung with Chu.
“We discovered from a further analysis of the results that Chu is far less favorable than Hung among pan-blue voters. About 25.3 percent of them are dissatisfied with Hung’s overall performance this year, compared with 43.9 percent who are dissatisfied with Chu,” Tan told a press conference in Taipei.
Former DPP legislator Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) said while the public widely feels that Hung is unfit to lead the nation, the KMT’s attempt to nullify her nomination goes against procedural justice and rationality.
“However, the consequences of not removing Hung could be more severe for the KMT, given that she garners just 9 percent support among people aged between 20 and 24, many of whom are first-time voters,” Lin said.
Lin said since first-time voters’ future voting behavior tends to be determined by their initial voting experience and the KMT would risk jeopardizing its future development in the decades to come if it fails to change its candidate now.
Former DPP legislator Julian Kuo (郭正亮) said that while Chu’s reported plan to oust Hung has taken a toll on his support rating, he could still salvage it and bring back some pan-blue supporters if he manages to unify the divided KMT.
The survey collected 1,074 valid samples, with a margin of error of 2.99 percentage points.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS